Rebel with a Cause
by Nicknack2814
Summary: Fred and George pull a prank on Umbridge, but unfortunately Fred can't get away fast enough. Hermione takes it upon herself to save his skin, landing them in what starts out as a fake relationship, but could maybe lead to something real.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is the story I told all my 'Fred Weasley vs' followers I'd be putting up. For some reason this one just seemed to flow better and I had a lot more material. Again, as with all my fics, I won't be updating regularly.**

It was fifth year and Hermione was wondering down the corridor, minding her own business with her nose in a book. Suddenly, out of nowhere, stampeding footsteps could be heard and angry yelling by not one but two voices. The first being Filch and the second, unmistakably, being Umbridge.

"You Weasley boys are in for it now!" Umbridge screamed as the boys came into view.

"What did you do?!" Hermione cried.

"We set off a few fireworks in Umbridge's office," George said as he ran past her.

"They may have been attached to a stink bomb or two," Fred laughed, right on George's heel.

Fred wasn't fast enough, however, because as George stepped onto a staircase it moved and Fred was left behind. He swore under his breath and looked around for another exit, calling to George that he'd meet him in the common room.

"What the fuck am I going to do?!" Fred panicked. "If Umbridge catches me, that's it, I'm done for. I'll be expelled and Mum'll kill me!"

"She already knows it's you-"

"No she doesn't, she never actually saw us, at least not enough to prove it was us," Fred was still panting from fleeing the scene.

"Well you'll be fine then," Hermione said. "You just so happened to be in this corridor-"

"Yeah right, totally out of breath and unable to answer any questions about my whereabouts for the last fifteen minutes," Fred hissed.

Hermione barely had ten seconds to decide what she wanted to do. On the one hand she'd be saving Fred and torturing Umbridge that little bit more, on the other hand she'd be the talk of the school by the end of the day and not in a good way. She couldn't believe she was even thinking it, and yet before she could stop herself she'd grabbed Fred and pulled him against her, crashing her lips into his.

Fred had absolutely no idea what was happening. One minute, he was freaking out because he was on the verge of expulsion, the next minute he had Hermione Granger's tongue down his throat, and boy could the bookworm kiss! Fred's shock subsided just in time for Umbridge to round the corner and see him pressed up against Hermione, his hand tangled in her hair and his arm wrapped around her waist. He'd pushed Hermione up against the wall in his new found fervour, relishing the taste of the little witch as she wound her fingers through his hair and sinfully flicked her tongue in time with his. Fred was so absorbed with the kiss that he'd completely forgotten he was being chased by the pink toad and her only ally in the school.

"Hem hem," Umbridge cleared her throat loudly from beside the pair, causing them both to jump feet and flush with colour. "What is going on here?"

"Uh, wh...we...uh..." Fred wasn't even sure what was going on.

"We were kissing Professor," Hermione said.

"Well, you can stop that right this instant," Umbridge said haughtily, eyeing Hermione with disgust. "Young Mr Weasley here is going to accompany me to the headmaster's office, where he will be expelled immediately."

"Expelled?!" Hermione cried. "Whatever for?!"

"For the fireworks and stink bombs that went off in my office not twenty minutes ago!" Umbridge shrieked.

"But he's been with me for the last hour, it can't have been him, it's impossible!" Hermione said earnestly, ignoring the shocked expression that stole across Fred's features as he snapped his face towards her.

"For an hour?" Umbridge glared.

"Yes professor," Hermione nodded. "I had a free lesson, and we wanted to make the most of some alone time..."

"I'd hardly call the corridor private Miss Granger," Umbridge smirked.

"No, well, we got a little bit carried away on the way back from somewhere that was," Hermione said, acutely aware of the crowd that had formed around them listening to every word she said. She cursed herself mentally, knowing this would be all over school within minutes.

"What exactly were you doing during this hour?" She huffed.

Hermione simply raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, causing the abominable woman to become quite flustered and flushed. Fred simply did his best to stop his jaw from dropping, wondering where the hell Hermione Granger had gone and who this imposter was.

"You'll be suspended for this! Sexual intercourse on school property is against the rules and the consequences of getting caught are dire," Umbridge barked.

"But we didn't get caught," Hermione said.

"You just said-"

"I never said anything," Hermione interrupted her.

"You...you..." Umbridge stammered crossly. "You insinuated that you and Mr Weasley had sex on school grounds."

"Yes, I did insinuate that, but insinuating something is not the same as admitting it," Hermione said.

"Veritserum," Umbridge proclaimed loudly. "We'll just _make_ you tell the truth."

"You can't use veritiserum on students, it's against the law," Hermione drawled lazily. "Surely you should know that, being a Ministry employee and all."

"I know Mr Weasley had something, if not everything, to do with what happened in my office," Umbridge spat. "Are you willing to vouch for this idiot prankster given your sterling record as a star pupil and all-round upholder of the rules?"

"Yes Professor, because he was with me the whole time and I won't see him punished for something he didn't do," Hermione said.

"Girl, you'd better watch what you're doing if you think you want to mess with me," Umbridge seethed. "You don't strike me as the kind of person to kiss like that on a whim, unless you were trying to get him out of a bind? Maybe give him an alibi?"

"Well, I am his alibi considering, like I said, he's been with me the whole time for the last hour," Hermione said.

"Maybe you had something to do with it too then?" Umbridge smiled evilly.

"I had nothing to do with it, and neither did Fred," Hermione said, "but you can take us to Dumbledore if you like?"

"That old fool wouldn't do a thing!" Umbridge hissed. "I think what I'll do is put you both in detention. I may not be able to prove you had anything to do with the pranks, or that you had sex on school grounds, but your disgusting public display of affection is enough for me to punish you. It was inappropriate and completely against school rules."

"Yes Professor, we're so very sorry, it won't happen again," Hermione said, with as little feeling as she could muster.

"You can say goodbye to your perfect record Miss Granger," Umbridge spat, "lewd sexual behaviour is a serious offence to have in one's school files. Good luck getting a job, especially with the Ministry."

"I'd be hard pressed to get one anyway, especially with the way things are going," Hermione said, trying not to lose her temper. "I am after all a mudblood."

The collective crowd gasped and all watched as a nasty little smile appeared on Umbridge's face. She looked Hermione up and down with a sneer.

"Your words, not mine dear," she said.

"Well, not in public anyway," Hermione countered.

"I will see you in my office tomorrow tonight, seven o'clock sharp!" Umbridge snapped. "You too Mr Weasley!"

"Yes Professor," the two of them said.

"And don't expect me to turn a blind eye the minute I walk away," she spat. "If you're adamant you weren't providing him an alibi then you are obviously involved with him. I'd find it much too coincidental to hear of your break up anytime soon." She smiled sweetly at them and Hermione scowled back. "I can't imagine the pressure of having to keep up the pretext of a fake relationship, especially for someone so ready to break school rules."

"Well it's a good job it's not fake then, Professor," Hermione smiled, taking Fred's hand in hers pointedly.

"Seven o'clock," she hissed before stomping away.

.

Fred waited patiently for Umbridge to disappear before turning to Hermione and just staring at her in shock. "What the fuck was that?"

"Uh...yeah...sorry...uh...I...maybe we should talk about it when we aren't surrounded by a good percentage of the student body?" Hermione finally found her voice and Fred looked around to see a lot of students guffawing at them.

"Sure," he nodded and felt a deep disappointment as Hermione went to walk away.

He grabbed hold of her without thinking and had her pressed back against the wall in a matter of seconds, his lips reconnected with hers and his hands wound their way back around her body. Hermione ran her fingers back through his hair and snogged him back just as senselessly as he did her. She wasn't sure how long he'd pinned her against him and she didn't care, but eventually air was necessary and she pulled away from him slightly.

"What the fuck was that?" Hermione whispered.

"And you can cuss too?" Fred part teased and part groaned. "Wow, I found myself the best fake fucking girlfriend I could ever have imagined..." he murmured as he lowered his lips back to hers, unable to stop himself.

"Fred..." Hermione mumbled in between kisses, slowly starting to remember they were in the corridor and Umbridge could be back any second. "Fred..."

"Mmm?" He asked, his kisses starting to trail down her neck.

"Uh Fred," Hermione did her best not to moan. "Fred!" She hissed, finally getting through to him.

"What?" He asked, pulling back with a frown and then jumping back in shock when he realised exactly what he'd been doing. "Oh shit! Sorry Hermione-"

"It's fine babe," Hermione said lightly, trying her best not to laugh as Fred mimed the word 'babe' back to her with a grimace. "We can pick up where we left off somewhere a little more private?"

Fred looked at her in shock and it took everything she had not to scowl at him and swing him round to look at the still gathered crowd. She'd call them peeping-toms but they weren't exactly being subtle about it. "Come on, we have loads to talk about now everyone knows about us." She smiled patiently as she took Fred's hand and pulled him dazedly down the corridor and away from prying eyes and finely tuned ears.

Hermione shoved a still very bewildered Fred into an empty classroom and locked the door quickly, silencing it for good measure.

"Hermione..." Fred croaked.

"Yes?"

"What are we doing in here?"

"Talking about what just happened," she said with a smirk.

"Oh good, okay," he sighed in relief, jumping up onto the teacher's desk to sit.

"Didn't think I was going to jump you, did you?" She grinned.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time," he said.

"That was to save your arse! I'd have thought it was obvious," Hermione said. "I don't know what got into you once Umbridge had stalked off-"

"You did!" Fred cried. "You can't kiss a bloke like that and expect him to brush it off as a favour and go about his normal life!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a fucking good kisser Hermione, and in my hazy post-snog state there was only one thing to do!" He flung his arms out at her exasperatedly. "You can't kiss a bloke like that and expect him to walk it off and not want to do it again the minute the teacher walks away! Especially me! Especially after you blatantly provoked her and riled her up! That's too big a bloody turn on after too good a bloody kiss not to want to do it again, immediately!"

"Im not entirely sure what to say to that Fred," Hermione mumbled, a brilliant blush crawling up cheeks.

"Absolutely nothing," Fred said, his own cheeks heating up. "What are we going to do?"

"Play along? That's all we can do," Hermione said with a shrug, jumping up to sit with him.

"Why'd you do it?" Fred asked.

"I just told you, to save you," Hermione repeated, frowning at him as though it really was obvious.

"But why? I'm out the end of this year anyway and it's not like I'm really going to care if I get expelled," he said. "Well, other than my imminent death at the hands of my mother."

Hermione chuckled. "Because you make me laugh, even if I don't do it out loud. And I could really use a few more laughs what with the pink toad running around this year."

"She's only one opinion Herms," Fred said softly, nudging her shoulder with his.

"Yep, one opinion that just so happens to represent the Government that stands over us," Hermione sighed.

Fred didn't really know what to say to that. He shuffled a little, knowing that what she said was right and there wasn't a lot a couple of kids could do about it right then. He also knew that Hermione was the smartest witch he'd ever met, so trying to comfort her with false truths like 'it'll get better' and 'you can change it' would be a bit pointless.

"I just wish that there was a world I belonged to that didn't see me as a freak," Hermione mumbled, unaware that Fred was still watching her and listening intently to what she'd just said.

Fred looked at her with wide eyes. He'd never seen it that way before. In the muggle world she was a bit weird because of all the accidental magic she'd been able to do. In the wizarding world she was considered odd by a lot of people simply because she was born and raised in the muggle world. Fred did the only thing he could think of right then, jumping off the desk he stepped up to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a massive hug. "Hermione, you'll never be a freak in my world."

Hermione squeezed him a bit tighter upon hearing those words, moved more than she could say. She felt hot tears slide down her cheeks, and for once in her life she didn't care that she wasn't alone as she cried.

Several minutes later she moved back, wiping her eyes and sniffing before Fred handed her a tissue.

"Thanks," she murmured. "Sorry about that..."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Fred said with a shrug. He sat beside her on the desk again and glanced down at her. Her eyes were red rimmed and she looked exhausted. "You know, we can break-up if you want," he said. "I don't really care what Umbridge thinks or says. But you look far too knackered to take this on as well."

"Thanks, you really know how to make a girl feel good," Hermione scoffed, her eyes flicking up to meet his. He was relieved to see a fair amount of mirth in them.

"It's a gift," he said, grinning as Hermione giggled. "But seriously, it's going to get old real fast trying to pretend we're an item. And she'll literally be waiting for us to slip up."

"She's been waiting for me to slip up all bloody year," Hermione growled. "If I can get under her skin for the rest of it, I'm all for it."

Fred couldn't help but think she was likely to get under _his_ skin if their little pretence had to involve any more public displays of affection.

"Well, we're going to have to get our mates in on it, otherwise it really won't look real," Fred said.

Hermione nodded before her eyes turned wide. "Shit! I didn't think! This is going to be over the whole school by now! All our friends will have heard what they're already supposed to know, through everyone else!" She jumped off the desk, clearly beginning to panic.

"Herms calm down," Fred said, unable to stop himself from thinking how adorable she looked in this state.

"Calm down?!" Hermione shrieked. "How am I supposed to do that Fred?! Our friends will already have given us away, and it's not even their fault!"

"Yours might, but mine'll have us covered," Fred sniggered softly. "Besides, why are you panicking so much. If this comes out, it's only me that'll get expelled."

"No it's not, not after I was the one who blatantly gave you the alibi. You just stood there gaping at the woman like a fish," Hermione snapped.

"Well you did just snog me senseless, completely out of the blue," Fred said in defence. "I was a little dazed, and confused."

"Umbridge will use this charade to have me kicked out too, I know she will. If she can ever prove it's a charade, that is," Hermione said.

Fred frowned a little, thinking seriously about what Hermione had said. He had to admit, she was right. The foul, toad-like witch whose fault this was, would do as much as possible to make Hermione miserable. Fred sighed and nodded.

"Okay, fair point," he said. "But George and Lee will agree with any rumour or suggestion that anyone presents them with. And Ginny will usually, too."

"Seriously?" Hermione frowned dubiously.

"Yeah, seriously," Fred said. "You'd be amazed at what sort of trouble that kind of thing can get you out of. So many people start thinking they saw stuff, or wish they had so they make it up, and then voila...alibi for across the other side of school."

"I'm assuming you start these rumours?" Hermione groaned.

"Sometimes, and sometimes they start on their own. But me and George have found that the more you just go along and say yes to people and the stupid things they're asking about, the more fun you have and the less torment you experience. Besides, people have usually made their minds up about it already and you agreeing or disagreeing is just lying or being honest with them."

"That's actually quite wise," Hermione mumbled.

"Thanks Herms," Fred said with a grin.

"Stop calling me Herms," Hermione growled. "I hate it."

"I figured you would," he sniggered. "Call it payback for calling me babe."

"I won't do that again," Hermione said, a mischievous twitch to her lips.

"I'll believe that when I don't hear it." Fred smirked. "What shall I call you then? Hermione is way too long to say all the time."

"I don't know..." Hermione mused, biting her lip as she thought. Fred found himself fighting the urge to run his tongue along it, unable to tear his gaze away from her mouth.

"Honey?" he said.

"No, don't like that either," she said, her lip coming to rest back between her teeth.

"Sweetheart?"

"No." She shook her head and sighed.

"Angel? Pumpkin? Sweetie pie?" Fred was trying hard not to growl softly at her, feeling the pull of his body as it wanted to close the gap between them again.

Hermione simply shook her head, quickly sucking her lip into her mouth before running her tongue across it and chewing it again.

"Love, regardless of whatever it is you want me to call you, you have got to stop doing that with your mouth," Fred groaned.

"Doing what?" Hermione frowned, looking up in confusion at him.

"Playing with your lip using your teeth," Fred said.

"I always do that when I'm thinking," she said, still confused.

"Oh Merlin, I'm a dead man," Fred mumbled to himself. He cleared his throat and looked at her. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, but it's very distracting and I can't promise you I'll be able to keep my lips off yours if you keep it up. Not after knowing what they can do."

"Oh," Hermione breathed, her confused look being replaced with quite a shocked one. Her face flushed red and she stammered a little as she spoke. "Sorry, I didn't mean to, uh, be so, um, distracting..."

Fred smiled warmly at her, chuckling to himself. "Merlin Hermione, you can boldly insinuate that we had sex to the most strict and heinous professor in the castle, but you can't deal with me telling you that chewing your lip is driving me a little crazy?"

"Apparently not, no," she said hotly. "It's different Fred! Umbridge is, well, Umbridge. And you're you!"

Fred snorted. "Ever so eloquent love," he chuckled.

"Fuck off Fred," Hermione huffed.

"What?" Fred laughed. "I'm sorry, Herms, but it was either that or point out how flustered I seem to make you..." He shot her a wink and grinned smugly at her.

"I am not flustered!" she growled.

"Sure seems like it," he said with a smirk.

"Well how exactly would you react if I told you that some stupid little thing you did drove me crazy with lust?" She practically stomped her foot as she glared at him, folding her arms in contempt.

"Honestly? I'd probably kiss you again," he said.

"Fred! That is not helping!" Hermione cried.

"Sorry," he sniggered. "But you are being a tad dramatic. I'm just saying that watching you chew your lip is kind of hot, primarily because I remember how hot it was when they were moving against mine." He shrugged nonchalantly and looked all too innocently at Hermione.

"Fred!" She really did stamp her feet this time. "Stop it!"

"Then stop chewing your lip, or I won't be held responsible for what I do," he said, grinning like a loon.

Hermione scoffed and raised an eyebrow at him. "Please, like your mother would let you get away with behaviour like that."

"You'd have to tell her about it first," Fred countered. "And considering your reaction when I kissed you after Umbridge disappeared, I'm going to say you'd probably keep your lips sealed...if I ever let them go again, that is."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were actually pretty into me and more interested in a real relationship instead of a fake one," Hermione said, a challenging sparkle in her eye.

"Well it's a good job you do," Fred said, smirking at her. He came to stand in front of her, feeling the space between them heat up as he placed himself as close as he could to the witch without actually touching her. "I'm not really looking for a real or permanent girlfriend right now. Bit of fun, maybe..."

"I don't do fun," Hermione murmured.

"That kiss you gave me suggested otherwise," Fred murmured back.

"I can't do fun," Hermione breathed. "It has to mean something. For me, it has to mean something."

"Fair enough," Fred said, smiling softly and giving her a small nod. "But it won't stop me from enjoying every second of every kiss we may end up sharing in this endeavour to pretend we're a couple."

"To be honest, it probably won't stop me from doing the same either," Hermione said, smirking wickedly at him.

"Oh dear god, you really are going to be the death of me," he whispered, his deep brown eyes boring into her own.

Hermione chuckled and stepped back a little. She looked back up into Fred's eyes, her own filled with amusement and mischief. Fred swallowed, feeling his breath catch in his throat.

"There's a lot more to you than meets the eye, isn't there love?" he asked softly.

"I don't know what you mean," she said, a coy smile peeking through on her lips.

"I bet you don't," Fred said sarcastically.

Hermione snickered and turned away from him, moving to pick her stuff up and go find her friends. Fred followed her lead and went to wait by the door, his bag already in his dormitory since it was dead weight when they knew they had to flee a prank scene.

"What are you going to do about all that fun you now can't have?" Hermione asked, suddenly realising that she really had put Fred in a rather unfair predicament.

"Pardon?" Fred asked, frowning a little. "You don't seriously expect me to start following school rules and stop messing around, do you?"

Hermione snorted and shook her head. "There's miracles and then there's the impossible."

Fred smirked and shot her a cheeky wink. "So if not pranks, what fun are you referring to?"

"The romantically physical kind," Hermione said.

"Oh!" Fred laughed. "Right. I hadn't thought about that."

"Sorry," Hermione grimaced. "Neither did I till right this minute."

"Well, I can't fool around on you," he said. "Although technically I wouldn't be, no one else knows that."

"And you're not fooling around _with_ me," she said.

"Honestly, I think pulling this off will be fun enough to make up for it," he said. "Besides, it's not like I've never had a wank before."

"Fred!" Hermione cried, her cheeks turning the colour of his hair.

"What?" he laughed. "I'm just saying..."

"You're really that comfortable just coming out with stuff like that?" she frowned. "You aren't just trying to embarrass me?"

"No," he said, eyeing her curiously. "It's a natural thing to do. Why would I be embarrassed about it? Are you embarrassed about it?"

"A little," she admitted. "Sex was never something we openly discussed at my house."

"I have five brothers, I don't think my parents had a choice," Fred chuckled. "Especially if they didn't want to be grandparents fairly young."

Hermione laughed and nodded. "I suppose so," she said. "I'm fairly comfortable talking about it with my girlfriends. I'm just not used to dropping it into conversation as bluntly as you do."

"You're gonna love my friends," Fred snickered.

Hermione chuckled and motioned for him to get the door. Fred undid her charms with ease before turning the handle of the door and waltzing out to the crowd of students all gathered around. Hermione's face fell flat and she went a little pale as she surveyed the curious and disbelieving faces. Fred merely slipped her hand in his and pulled her lovingly down the corridor in search of their friends.

Hermione was hoping they'd come across Harry and Ron before anyone else had, or for it to be the first time that their oblivious ignorance would come in handy and they'd never know something was up until Hermione spoke to them later. Unfortunately, neither was the case and they weren't exactly quiet about it.

"Hermione!" Harry called, sprinting towards her and closely followed by Ron and Ginny. "Hermione, there's some ridiculous rumour-"

Harry stopped short as he saw Fred standing beside Hermione, his hand clasped around hers. He looked from one to the other and frowned.

"Told you," Ginny said with a smirk as she came up behind him.

"Are you serious?!" Ron asked in a strangled sort of voice.

"Yes we are Ronnekins," Fred grinned, "if by serious you mean, in a serious relationship."

"No bloody way," Ron said, shaking his head. "I don't believe you."

"That's your choice mate," Fred said. "But it's the truth."

"How come Ginny knew before us?!" Harry asked, sounding quite wounded at not being someone Hermione had chosen to confide in.

"Because...because well..." Hermione stammered, not wanting to lie to Harry.

"Because I walked in on them doing it over Christmas," Ginny said, as though that was a normal thing to say in front of everyone.

"Ginny!" Hermione cried, completely mortified.

"What?" Ginny asked with a shrug. "Harry asked..."

"I didn't ask that," Harry said, glaring grumpily at everyone but Ron.

"You've been having sex?" Ron said weakly.

"That does tend to happen when you're in a serious relationship, Ronniekins," Fred scoffed.

"But, but..." Ron looked wide eyed from one to the other.

"Oh baby brother," Fred sniggered. "Having trouble remembering what that is-ow!" Hermione had jammed one of her elbows into Fred's ribs.

Hermione glared at Fred and he turned betrayed eyes on her. "Leave him alone."

"Sure _Herms_ , whatever you say," Fred said, still glaring at her.

"Come on _babe_ , lets go and find your friends," Hermione growled. "See if it goes any better."

"Hermione, I really think we need to talk about this," Harry urged. "Like, now."

"Me too," Hermione said, thankful that at least Harry had seen something there. She was sure Ron would have too if he hadn't just heard his little sister say she'd walked in on his big brother shagging one of his best mates. "We'll be back up to the common room in a bit. Meet us there and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"Including all the sex," Fred snickered.

"Shut up Fred," Hermione muttered, slapping his shoulder and scowling at him as she stalked passed her friends and went on the lookout for his.

George and Lee were goofing around with Angelina, Alicia and Katie. Or more precisely, they were goofing around for the girls' entertainment. It was George who spotted Fred and Hermione first.

"There you are!" George hollered at them, gesturing for them to get a move on. "I was wondering when we'd see you two!"

"Hey Georgie," Fred grumbled, still sulking about earlier.

"So, cat's out the bag then?" George smirked, looking between the two of them.

"I'm surprised you managed to keep it a secret for so long," Lee scoffed.

"So it's true?!" Katie practically screeched, her eyes darting from Hermione to Fred and back again.

"Yeah," Hermione said, nodding her head weakly.

"What did boy wonder and our dear baby brother think?" George sniggered.

"They weren't all too happy," Hermione huffed, glaring at George. "I said I'd meet them in the common room in a few minutes and tell them whatever they wanted to know."

"Does that offer extent to us lot?" Alicia asked, a sly grin on her face.

"Yes, it does," Fred said with a short nod.

"What's wrong with you?" George frowned at a grumpy Fred.

"He's sulking because I wouldn't let him heckle Ron about us," Hermione said, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows at Fred.

"It's Ron!" Fred practically exploded. "Bloody Ron! We torment him about everything!"

"Take it as a compromise," Hermione said. "You don't torment Ron about the two of us, and I won't go all prefect on your arse and make you behave more than normal."

"I thought you said that was impossible and you weren't expecting the impossible from me?" Fred said.

"I'm Hermione Granger, I can do impossible. The question is, do you want to see me try?" Hermione looked at him expectantly, the rest of their crowd holding their breath.

"Fuck me love, I think you've made me a masochist." Fred grinned wickedly at her. "You look downright hot when you look at me like that."

"I'm not sure George would appreciate you giving in to those sorts of urges," Hermione sniggered, much to the surprise of everyone else. "He'd end up losing his partner in crime."

"He'd also like to go and have that conversation you promised Harry and Ron, too," George cut in, looking curiously between the two of them.

"I think that's a wonderful idea, George," Hermione said with a nod, leading the way back to the castle.


	2. Chapter 2

Once everyone (that needed to hear it) was situated inside Fred, George and Lee's room, Hermione locked the door and performed a silencing charm. She turned back to the group with a worried sort of look on her face.

"So, what's really going on?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," George grinned, "why's there a rumour blazing its way through school that you pair are shagging?"

"You mean it really is a rumour?!" Ron squeaked. "But Gin...you said you'd caught them at it?!"

"George and Lee vouched for it too!" Alicia cried.

"Me and George set off a load of stink bombs in Umbridge's office. As we fled the scene, the staircase moved. George got away and I got stuck in the corridor," Fred explained, looking at Hermione and motioning her to continue.

"I was coming back from a study session. I saw Fred and asked him what was wrong and he said about the prank and how his mother would kill him if he got himself expelled..." she paused and started fidgeting with her fingers, taking in a deep breath before she carried on. "I sort of came up with a way to save his skin, so to speak. Except I knew it would end up making its way through the grapevine within a matter of minutes-"

"Grapevine?" Alicia frowned.

"Muggle reference," Hermione said. "It means news travels fast, basically."

"So what was this idea?" Katie asked, looking curiously at Hermione and wondering if she'd pegged the bookworm all wrong. George indeed clarified that a second later.

"I believe it was to snog him senseless before giving him an alibi?" he said with a smirk, having been watching from the floor above.

"What?!" Ron cried.

"Well, he said something about being caught in the corridor and completely out of breath..." Hermione shrugged. "There was only one other reason I could think of that could take his breath away."

"You certainly did that love," Fred sniggered, winking at her.

"You seriously snogged him?!" Angelina squealed, looking at Hermione with wide eyes. Hermione merely nodded.

Ginny grinned, speaking up and asking the next question. "So, how does you kissing Fred-"

" _Passionately_ kissing..." he corrected with a smug smile on his face.

Ginny groaned and rolled her eyes. "How does you, _passionately_ kissing Fred, end up with the school believing you shagged in an abandoned classroom and are now secretly engaged?"

"Secretly engaged?!" Hermione shrieked.

Ginny sniggered. "So the shagging in the classroom bit you have no problems with?"

"Not really no, since I was the one who insinuated that's what we'd been doing," Hermione huffed. She felt a little smug herself when everyone but Fred and Ginny were gaping at her in shock.

 _"You_ started that rumour?" Harry asked, obviously quite perplexed.

Hermione then proceeded to tell them all exactly what happened between the two of them and Umbridge. George was quite impressed with the bookworm's ability to think on the fly, and the huge rebellious streak she seemed to have grown.

"The problem is," said Fred, "that Umbridge won't hear of a break up between us until after I finish the year, I'd bet. Which means we have two whole terms of school left before we can drop the charade or Hermione here is likely to get expelled as well."

"So you'll just have to keep pretending," Ginny said, as though it was obvious.

"We know that!" Hermione cried. "We just wanted you guys in on it too. It'll make it that much easier to convince everyone else."

George grinned. "We've got you covered. I think me, Lee and Ginny just going with it probably saved face quite a bit."

"Yeah, thanks," Fred said, grinning back. He turned to Hermione. "I told you my friends wouldn't drop us in it."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Hermione huffed.

Ginny suddenly spoke up, a wicked smirk on her face. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you know Umbridge isn't going to just take what she hears through gossip and leave it at that? Right?"

"What d'you mean?" Fred asked.

"She means, you're going need more than just our support to sell this thing," Lee answered, nodding at Ginny.

"Like what?" Hermione frowned.

"Like more public kisses, holding hands whenever you're around each other, lots of laughing and joking between you, that sort of thing," Ginny said.

"And lots of wanting to be alone," Lee added with an apologetic grimace. "No one is going to believe this for long if Granger here is always studying in the library and you, Fred, are always running around the castle pulling pranks with me and George."

"He's right," Katie said. "You're going to have to come up with a way of doing both with each other. No one is going to believe it if Hermione suddenly stops studying or Fred starts, either."

"So what do we do?" Hermione asked, her eyes a little wide and panicked.

"Well, my advice would be to date for real," Ginny said with a shrug.

Hermione and Fred looked at her in shock and outrage. The rest of the group also looked at her in shock and then began nodding in agreement.

"You can't be serious?" Fred said.

"Completely," Ginny answered.

George grinned at his twin. "Mate, you make a pretty decent couple. I say go for it, at least then the break up would be real."

"You're insane if you think we'd work!" Hermione said, completely baffled by Ginny's train of thought.

"Actually..." Harry grimaced at Hermione and gave her an apologetic shrug. "You make a lot of sense..."

"How?!" Fred cried. "We'd drive each other mental!"

"Really?" George scoffed. "Don't get me wrong, there's parts of you that are polar opposites but...you've definitely got a lot of chemistry." He smirked at the pair.

"Chemistry?" Hermione scoffed back. "Are you seriously suggesting we date for real based on the ridiculous notion of chemistry?! I mean, what does chemistry even have to do with a real relationship?!"

"Uh, chemistry, my dear Hermione, would be that thing that stopped you from pushing Freddie away when he pinned you back against the wall _after_ Umbridge walked away." George smirked as both Hermione and Fred's cheeks flushed a deep red.

"What?!" Several people in the room were looking at them in shock again.

"You kissed her again?!" Ron cried. "After Umbridge was gone?! After there was no real need to?!"

"Trust me, Ronnekins, there was definitely a real need," Fred grumbled whilst looking daggers at George.

The group just stared at him with their mouths agape.

"What? She's a fucking good kisser!" Fred huffed. "And she provoked a teacher! Not to mention the fact that she basically became an accomplice with regards to our prank!"

The room were still looking at him with wide eyes.

"It was bloody hot!" Fred cried in exasperation. "You try having her tongue shoved down your throat and tell me if you wouldn't be up for doing it again!"

"And you think dating for real isn't something you could do?" Lee mumbled in disbelief.

"Just shut up with the dating crap!" Hermione snapped. "It's not fucking happening! So come up with a better way of helping us than suggesting stupid shit like that!"

Again, everyone but Fred and Ginny's jaws dropped at hearing Hermione curse. George looked weakly over at Fred.

"I think I get it now mate," George murmured. "If that kiss was half as hot as it looked, with a mouth like that you'd be bloody done for..."

"Thank you!" Fred sighed triumphantly. Hermione glared at him.

.

"I have an idea," Ginny said. "What if Hermione studied in whatever classroom it is you go to when you're creating those products you sell?"

"What?!" Fred, George and Hermione all looked aghast at her.

"Well, think about it. It makes perfect sense," Ginny said with a shrug. "You'd be together but it won't be in public. So everyone will notice that you're both missing but no one will know why. They'll just assume you're shagging."

Hermione frowned at the ingenious redhead. She didn't want to admit that the girl was probably on to something, but she also didn't really have a choice. "What about George? They'll notice he's missing too."

"Well, Fred and George are just going to have to take it in turns to pull pranks with Lee. For every prank they carry out together, they have to carry two out separately. That way, one of them can be in the classroom with you and the products, and the other can be running around the castle causing mischief, and neither of them have to feel left out," Ginny suggested.

"And you don't think anyone is going to notice I'm with the wrong twin?" Hermione asked with a frown.

The whole room laughed at her.

"Can _you_ even tell which one's which?" Lee smirked.

"Of course I can!" Hermione said. "It's not that hard, they aren't the same person!"

There were a few scoffs and sniggers, no one believing her.

"Prove it," Fred said challengingly, frowning oddly at her. It had only just occurred to him that as far as he could remember, she'd never called him George, and by look on George's face, the same could be said for him.

"Fine," she said. "I'll leave the room for two minutes while you run round it and switch places, or don't. And then I'll tell you which one is which."

Hermione left the room a total of five times, each and every time coming back in and immediately (and correctly) telling the group which twin Fred was and which twin George was.

"I still get it wrong half the time and I've shared a room with them for three quarters of the year since we were eleven," Lee said in shock.

"I thought Ginny was the only one who could tell them apart at a glance," Harry said, looking strangely at Hermione.

"Like I said, they aren't the same person," Hermione grumbled, irritated that she'd had to prove it more than once.

"But they are _identical twins_ ," Katie pointed out. "As in, they look _identical_. How the fuck can you tell them apart?"

"I don't know," Hermione said with a shrug. "I just can. I like to know things, one of which being who I'm talking too. Or getting harassed by."

"So what? You watched them closely for a while until you could tell them apart?" Lee scoffed. "As if we haven't tried to do the same?"

"I don't know what else to tell you," Hermione said. "It worked for me and not for you, I guess."

"Or you fancy the pants of one or both of them, and that's how you can tell them apart?" Alicia mused, raising an eyebrow at Hermione.

"I do not fancy them," Hermione huffed. "Either of them!" she barked as George, Fred and Ginny went to open their mouths.

"Not even a tinsey wincey bit?" George teased. "Not even after those amazing kisses with Fred?"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably while scowling at George. "No, not even after that." Truth be told, even the memory of those kisses made her hot all over again, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Sure, Hermione, you keep telling yourself that," Ginny scoffed.

"What? You want me to suddenly confess my undying love for Fred because of a couple of heated snogs?" she scoffed back.

"I wouldn't go that far love," Fred chuckled. "But I'd be happy to admit I fancy the pants off you now." He sent her a wink that made her cheeks warm.

"You would?" Hermione blurted in surprise.

"How could I not?" Fred smirked.

"But do you?" she asked.

"What?" Fred baulked.

"Do you fancy the pants off me, or would you just be happy admitting it, if in fact you did?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Fred looked quite impressed. "I momentarily forgot who I was talking to. Please forgive me?"

"I'll think about it," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

.

"Anyway, back to the real problem," George said, looking strangely at his brother. "Regardless of your want or not to date for real, you're both going to have to make it look like you are." He focused his attention on the two of them, glancing back and forth. "There's only so much us lot can do. When you're around each other in public you're going to need to act all lovey dovey with each other, like you're super into each other. It's going to get weird and awkward and you're both going to have to soldier on through it."

"Why can't I just pretend like it's you I'm with, if you're sure no one will notice the difference?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, because that's not going to look weird," Lee scoffed. "Hermione never alone with Fred but always alone with George..."

"Yes okay, you make a valid point," she huffed. "I realised what a stupid idea it was the minute I said it."

"Look, it doesn't have to be that bad," Ginny sighed. "Just hold hands, walk each other to class and kiss each other goodbye. Spend your meals with each other or make sure you're both hidden away so it looks like you've snuck off together, and upon saying goodnight at the bottom of the stairs, indulge in one of those overly heavy snog sessions that got George's tongue wagging."

Hermione scowled at Ginny. "Yes, because that sounds so easy."

"It doesn't actually sound that hard," Angelina said, shrugging apologetically at Hermione. "It could be worse. He could be a lot worse..."

"Thanks Ange," Fred said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry Fred, I didn't mean it quite like that," she muttered.

"I'd do it for you if I looked anything like you," Katie said, winking at Fred. "So unless you can brew a bit of polyjuice potion, you're out of luck."

"Actually, I can do that," Hermione murmured.

"What?!" Everyone but Harry and Ron looked at her with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?!" Fred asked, having had more exposure to the surprisingly awesome things Hermione Granger could do, and so had recovered the fastest.

"We thought Malfoy knew who the heir of Slytherin was so I brewed the potion and Harry and Ron snuck into the Slytherin common room as Crabbe and Goyle," she said with a shrug.

"That was three years ago!" Fred cried. "You were in your second bloody year!"

"And?!" she huffed.

"And, its not a potion you're supposed to be able to brew until well within your sixth or seventh year!" He looked at her in disbelief. "And, apparently _we're_ supposed to be the most notorious rule breakers this school has ever seen!"

"It's not our fault we're better at not getting caught," Hermione said. "Not to mention you aren't the most notorious rule breakers. That would be the Marauders."

"What exactly did they have on us? Huh?" George had now come round as well.

"Well, for a start, three of them were unregistered animagi," she said. "And the fourth one was a werewolf."

"How do you know all this?" Alicia asked.

"Uh..." Hermione stammered, trying to ignore the dirty looks Harry was sending her. "I...did some research?"

Harry, Ron, the twins and Ginny all rolled their eyes and shook their heads. To Lee and the girls, it looked as though they were saying they wouldn't have expected anything else, to Hermione they were basically saying 'nice save' albeit rather sarcastically.

.

"Look, we're getting off track again," George said, clapping his hands for effect. "Basically, you two need to act like a couple from now until the end of the school year or you won't make it that long. Yeah?"

"That about sums it up, yes," Fred grumbled.

"Fine, so just do what Ginny said, we'll continue to support you and tell everyone you're an item, and you two make sure you sell what we're saying," George said.

"I don't think it's going to be that easy," Hermione mumbled. "I mean, it's going to feel so awkward that it'll be impossible not to _look_ awkward."

"Well, how about, you both agree that you go with whatever you're doing or saying?" George suggested. "No arguments or overthinking whether it's not enough or too much. And when it comes to the physical coupley stuff, if it won't make Ronnikins gag you're not doing it right. Okay?"

"Hey!" Ron cried. "Why am I the bar for persuasive acts of public affection?"

"Because no one else cares as much as you do," George said.

"She's my best mate and he's my brother!" Ron said. "It's weird! And gross!"

"It's not gross Ron," Ginny sighed. "It's actually fairly normal. They're both over sixteen, they're both consenting to this charade and they both fancy each other."

"We do not!" Fred and Hermione practically yelled.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourselves that," Lee muttered.

"Come on, let's just go back down to the common room," Harry said. "You two can cozy up on one of the sofas together and then we can all head to bed."

"Why can't we just go straight to bed now? Why do we have to go and cuddle?!" Hermione squeaked.

"To sell the story," Alicia scoffed. "Come on Hermione, you were the one who started it. Don't tell us you haven't got the balls to finish it?"

"Yeah, it was your idea," Katie agreed, giving her a condescending sort of look. "You should suck it up and just get on with it. Or admit you fancy Fred..."

"I don't fancy Fred!" Hermione hissed, her cheeks red. "What was I supposed to do?! Let him get caught by Umbitch, expelled and then murdered by his mother?!"

"All we're saying is that you're making an awful lot of fuss about a few kisses and some innocent cuddles," Alicia shrugged, "especially for someone who didn't hesitate earlier."

Hermione looked between the two girls and felt something she'd describe a akin to being prey. She wasn't sure why they were being so pushy or catty all of a sudden.

"Come on then Granger, let's get to it," Fred said, his eyes narrowing on his supposed friends. He slipped his hand into Hermione's and gently tugged her towards the stairs.

Hermione followed him in a bit of a daze, grasping tightly to his hand and hiding her face behind as much of her hair as would fall over it. Fred steered them to one of the sofas in front of the fire and plonked himself down in the middle. He pulled her down next to him and placed a cushion on her lap, swinging himself round and putting his head on it. Hermione looked down at him with wide and uncertain eyes.

"Fred?" she murmured. "Why is your head in my lap?"

"They want a show, I figure we give them a show," he said with a shrug. "Just relax."

Hermione swallowed thickly and nodded. She didn't know where to put her hands, or how to feel about Fred's head resting on her thighs. The rest of the group all seemed to give their nod of approval as they came to join the couple, the rest of the common room having gone quieter as they whispered and muttered to each other. Hermione felt so out of place that it was taking all her courage not to bolt out the door.

"Here," Fred said, holding a book out to her.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, taking it from him and looking at the cover.

"It's a novel I'm reading, something called science-fiction. Lee gave it to me for Christmas, but I thought it might distract you enough to stop your anxiety," he said. "It's a muggle author, quite good but I haven't got to the end yet. Give it ago, if only to prevent yourself from hyperventilating."

"Thanks," she mumbled, flipping open the cover and placing the book on the arm rest to read.

Fred smiled softly at her and she became quite distracted in just a short few seconds. His eyes turned wide as saucers when she seemed to lose herself so quickly to the narrative of the novel, that her hand came up and began slowly and absently carding through his hair. He had to say that he rather liked it. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the ruse as it was supposed to be, knowing George would wind him up about it later but choosing not to care right now.

.

It had been nearly two hours, the whole group dotted around the sofas and the fireplace chit chatting amongst themselves and barely giving Hermione and Fred any real notice. They were all starting to get tired and their eyes were beginning to droop. Fred had dozed off at least once or twice over the course of the evening, the feel of Hermione's fingers running through his hair made it impossible not to succumb to his sleepy state.

"Right, well, I think I'm going to head up to bed," Lee said, being the first to call it a night.

"Me too," George sighed, looking questioningly at Fred.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Fred groaned, not really wanting to leave. And by the look on George's face, he could definitely tell that Fred wasn't exactly acting.

"I think we could all use the sleep," Harry yawned. "I'm coming too."

As the group stirred, Fred raised his arm to gently squeeze Hermione's knee and get her attention.

"Hey love, it's time for bed I think," he said softly.

Hermione tore her eyes away from the book to look down at Fred.

"Hmm?" she asked, still absently stroking his head.

"Bedtime love, its late," he chuckled.

"Oh! Right! Yes," she said with a nod, closing the book and suddenly realising what she'd been doing to Fred's hair all night. "Oh Merlin, sorry about your hair," she muttered, her face flushed. "You should have told me to stop!"

"If I didn't like it, I would have done," Fred said, smirking as he sat up. "Come on, I'll walk you to the stairs and we can say a proper goodnight." He winked and Hermione's insides squirmed, wanting a kiss so badly but knowing it was probably the worst idea.

Hermione nodded and got to her feet, handing the book back to Fred. He smiled and began following the rest of their group towards the staircases.

"We'll see you up there mate," George said with a grin. "I'd rather not witness your goodnight to your girlfriend." He grimaced in jest after giving Fred a hard look which said in no uncertain terms that he better make it good and convincing, before bounding up the stairs with everyone else.

This left Fred and Hermione surrounded by a whole host of less than subtle voyeurs.

"Well, we did it twice before, what's once more hey?" Fred murmured, his eyes twinkling as he lent in towards Hermione.

"I wasn't thinking before, not of anything but saving your hide," she mumbled back. "I can't do shit like this when I've over thought it..."

"Then don't over think it," Fred said, taking another step towards her and bringing their bodies together.

"Merlin, I've got a bad feeling about this!" she hissed in panic the closer Fred's face got to hers.

"Don't quote Star Wars on me now love, not when we're supposed to be keeping this fairly platonic," he sniggered sweetly, wrapping his arms around her and anchoring her body to his.

"Just shut up and kiss me," she huffed, her body thrumming and her heart racing. She just wanted to get their 'goodnight' over and done with.

"As you wish," he said with a smirk, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers.

Hermione sighed at the feel of having him back against her, of having his lips on hers again. It was sweet and soft and oh so delicious. There was something about the way Fred could kiss that stopped her mind from whirring. Her arms came up to wrap around his neck and she arched her body into his as she felt his tongue tangle with her own. God, she could do this for hours and not get bored. She suspected that could be the real problem, and she wouldn't have been wrong.

Fred couldn't get enough of the little witch. She was sinfully good at this, knowing exactly which buttons to press without making her a tease or a temptress. He was sure she had no idea what sort of talent she possessed and should she want to, he knew she could tie him up in knots for the rest of the year. Maybe even his life. That thought was possibly the most terrifying one he'd had to date. He pulled back from Hermione a little, winding down their goodnight show.

"Thank you for saving me," he whispered in her ear as he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

"Thanks for going with it afterwards and saving me," she murmured back.

Fred sighed, plastering a smile on his face as he moved back to look at her.

"We have to make this look super smooth and not at all awkward now," Hermione said quietly. "How're we going to do that?"

"I don't really know," Fred said, unable to stop the small chuckle from escaping his lips. Their situation was absurd, and they could both feel every eye in the house on them.

Hermione found herself joining in, a giggle pushing forth from almost nowhere. Before they knew it, they were laughing sweetly together, ignorant of the stunned faces all watching. They were selling their story without even trying.

Fred managed to get his laughter under control, and taking a deep breath he leant forward and rested his forehead against Hermione's. He smiled softly at her and felt his heart swoop a little at her obvious blush.

"So, I'm going to give you one last kiss goodnight, and then I'm going to head up," he said. "Feel free to look at my retreating form, grinning like a loon for all the world to see. I won't judge you or assume you aren't faking, although I probably won't be when you catch me looking back...okay?"

Before Hermione could respond or register exactly what Fred had said, she felt his hand leave her waist and gently come to rest on her cheek. He gazed intently at her before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers once more.

Hermione gasped at the tenderness, the softness and the sensuality. He was slow and sure, the kiss only lasting a few seconds at best but the repercussions lasting a lifetime (unbeknown to them).

"Night Hermione," Fred murmured, winking at her as he let her go and walked away.

Hermione did in fact watch him go, smiling like a loon and not at all having to fake it. Fred, on the other hand, was indeed having to fake it since he was freaking out so much that really smiling wasn't an option. He really bloody should have listened to Ginny and dated the witch for real.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took me so long, like Isaid, I can only guarantee updates, I can't guarantee when they'll be, so thank you for sticking with it and with me. Thanks for the patience, all the reviews and follows :)**

Hermione found herself sat at a study table at an early hour the next morning. She couldn't sleep. Lavender and Parvarti had grilled her on her relationship with Fred and she'd barely managed to keep it together long enough to convince them that it wasn't all lies. She'd tossed and turned all night, panicking about how they were going to see this through and sell their story if she went to pieces the minute anyone asked her a question. With Umbridge it was different. She hated the woman and felt her behaviour towards her was deserved. With her fellow peers, they were her friends and she didn't like lying to them. They also knew her well enough to know when something fishy was going on.

Several people passed her as she buried her nose in her books. Harry and Ron had already come down the stairs, pointedly telling Hermione that they weren't waiting for Fred to get their breakfast so they'd see her later. Her stomach was beginning to rumble and she was likely to end up late to class if he took much longer. Finally his sleepy head appeared in the doorway.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Hermione whisper-hissed. "I'm bloody starving!"

Fred swooped in and kissed her full on the lips, momentarily shocking the witch. "Morning," he mumbled groggily.

"Morning," Hermione said, shaking herself out of it as she began packing her books into her school bag. There were a few students around avidly watching the new couple, and Fred seemed none the wiser. "I'm going to be late to class at this rate-!"

He kissed her again, yawning as he pulled away. Hermione stood up with a huff, completely baffled by his behaviour.

"If you want to go to breakfast together every morning, you need to wake up a lot earlier-!" Hermione squeaked as he kissed her a third time.

"I'm serious Fred!" she said, mumbling as he kissed her again. "Are you just going to keep kissing me to shut me up? Because I can tell you right now that it won't work-"

Hermione was cut off by another kiss, this one however wasn't just a quick peck. Fred stepped in close and circled her waist with his arms. His mouth moulded over hers, easing her lips apart and using his tongue to toy with her own. He smiled at the small moan that crept up her throat, kissing along her jaw and down her neck. He could feel her breath, hot and heavy as she became putty in his hands.

"Fred..." she murmured. "Fred, you have to stop that."

"In a minute," he whispered, nipping and licking across her collar bone.

"Fred! Please!" Hermione cried, feeling a little bit pathetic at the desperation in her voice. She was ten seconds away from either shoving him off her and slapping him or dragging him back to his bed, and considering she had zero experience of being in a bed with anyone, she didn't really want to have to choose.

Fred stopped what he was doing, hearing the plea in her voice. He did not let her go, however. "Sorry, I'm extra affectionate in the morning," he said, nuzzling her cheek with his nose.

"And as lucky as I feel about that right now, we really need to get to breakfast or I'm going to be late to class," Hermione said, her hands gripping Fred's arms like vices.

Fred pulled back a bit to actually look Hermione in the eyes. She looked both exhilarated and terrified, and was glancing distractedly over Fred's shoulder every five seconds. He gripped her chin and pulled her gaze back to his. "It doesn't matter what they think," he said. "It doesn't matter what anyone thinks but the two of us. Okay?"

Hermione nodded softly and he leant in to kiss her gently one last time.

"Come on, lets go. Before you end up going to class hungry," Fred said, grasping her hand and leading her towards the door where George was waiting.

"Yes, or I'm late," she muttered.

"You'd never be late," Fred said. "You'd sooner starve than get to class late."

.

Hermione walked silently next to Fred down to the Great Hall. He yawned a couple of times and spoke in some sort of code to George as they ambled along the corridors. Out of nowhere, Fred bundled Hermione into an empty classroom, locking and silencing the door.

"What the hell Fred?! I'm already bloody late?!" she shrieked. "I'm also bloody starving!"

"Yeah, George is going to bring breakfast up, you'll be fine," Fred said, rubbing his eyes and running his hands through his hair. "So, what's up?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione glared. "What d'you mean, what's up?"

"I mean you're acting all hinkey and I want to know what's wrong," Fred said. "You looked scared as shit this morning when I was kissing you-"

"I was fine! I was sleep deprived and hungry and my fake fucking boyfriend was too half-asleep to bloody notice!" Hermione screeched.

"Okay, Granger, calm down. It's too early for that sort of level of noise," Fred said, scrunching his face up.

"I'm going to be late Fred!" she cried, her whole body beginning to shake.

"Hermione, tell me what's wrong," Fred said again, looking more alert and awake all of a sudden.

Hermione huffed and folded her arms, biting her lip and feeling like she wanted to cry. Or die, she wasn't quite sure. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," he said.

"Since when did you become an expert on the female psyche?" she scoffed.

"Oh give me some credit, I do have to deal with Ginny on a daily basis, not to mention my mother," Fred huffed, folding his arms. "Now, I'm not letting you out of this classroom till you tell me what is really going on."

"I've never done this before," Hermione blurted.

"What? Had a fake boyfriend?" Fred frowned, thinking that was obvious.

"No, I've never done the whole, going steady and dating thing," Hermione said. "The extent of my dating history is fooling around with Viktor Krum last year!"

"International quidditch star, Viktor Krum," Fred said flatly.

"Exactly! We never did anything publicly because we knew it would end up in all the papers and it would be analysed and scrutinised the world over and we were just two hormonal teenagers stumbling around in a new relationship!" Hermione ranted. "I don't know how to act around you in front of everyone because I don't know what an acceptable level of affection is!"

Fred looked at her in amusement. "Well, if you can relinquish control of a situation for more than five seconds, I'm happy to take the lead on that," he said.

"What?" she mumbled.

"I'll initiate all pda if you want," he offered. "You just go with it as much or as little as you want at the time."

"But if I don't go with it-"

"We'll be a normal healthy couple with boundaries and shit," Fred said, smirking at her. "Merlin love, we really are going to go bonkers if you're going to put that sort of pressure on us."

"So what, I just follow your lead and that's it?" Hermione frowned.

"Sort of," he said. "Just treat me like you always do."

"I don't think treating you with a fair amount of contempt is a good idea Fred," Hermione laughed.

"Loving and affectionate contempt," he chuckled. "If we change the way we are with each other too drastically we'll never sell it. We need to be normal, just with a little bit of romance."

Hermione let out an anxious breath. "You really think so?"

"I know so," he said with a shrug. "If you want to scream and shout and yell at me, do it. Just be prepared for me to kiss my way out of it."

"Kiss your way out of it?" Hermione asked dubiously.

"Those lips are too good not to kiss and you look fucking hot when you're mad," he said nonchalantly.

"You can't just say stuff like that," Hermione muttered. "It's confusing. This is a charade. You wouldn't want to kiss me if it wasn't saving your skin or mine..."

"That's where you're very wrong Hermione dear." Fred smirked as he closed the gap between them. "I'd want to kiss you all day long regardless. But you don't do fun, and I don't do 'meaning something' so alas, we come to a pass."

"If only you wanted to date me for real," Hermione sighed longingly, the words escaping her before she could stop them.

"You'd actually want to date me for real?!" Fred stepped back in total shock.

"Wh...uh..." Hermione faltered, trying to think her way round it. The last thing she needed was for Fred to think she had actual feelings for him (which she may be starting to, but that was besides the point) and complicate everything. "You kiss really well."

Fred looked at her for a second or two before cracking up. He laughed and nodded, smiling brightly at Hermione. "You're not so bad yourself Granger."

"Yeah, so you keep saying," Hermione sniggered.

"Were you taught everything you know, or are you just a natural?" Fred asked, a glint of intrigue in his eye.

Hermione smiled. "I don't really know. I never got any complaints from Krum, or any pointers. I just assumed that we learnt from each other without having to say much."

Fred nodded, trying to ignore the bubble of jealousy rolling around in his stomach. Fun, he reminded himself, was the only thing he did. He was too young for serious and committed when it came to relationships. "How far did you get with him?"

"I am not answering that!" Hermione cried. "That's between me and him."

"So further than a good snog then," Fred said, forcing a teasing smile onto his face as his insides burned with envy.

Hermione scowled and folded her arms. "I thought you said George went to get breakfast."

"He did," Fred muttered. He was desperately trying to get a handle on his emotions, knowing he had no right to be jealous even if Hermione was his legitimate girlfriend. But there was something about the idea of Krum putting his hands on her that made him sick and angry, and he couldn't for the life of him work out what that was. At least that was what he was telling himself.

"So, since you asked me, how far have _you_ gone with a girl?" Hermione said, eyeing him curiously.

"Me?" Fred smirked, thinking back to the string of ladies he'd left in his wake. "Wouldn't you like to know? I believe we were playing a don't kiss and tell sort of game, were we not?"

Hermione contemplated her next move. It was either be honest with Fred and admit to being completely inexperienced, or keep her mouth shut and never find out about what he'd done. She wasn't sure she even really wanted to know; the idea of him with another girl made her feel funny in a way that she couldn't place.

"Yes, I believe we were," Hermione said, deciding against telling him one of her deepest darkest secrets. Once she'd told him, she couldn't take it back, but she always had the option of telling him at some point if she wanted to.

At that moment George re-entered, tipping a whole load of pastries and spreads out onto the table. When Hermione looked at him in surprise he simply grinned at her.

"We aren't as unobservant as our little brother and his best friend," George snickered. "And don't forget, our pranks are pulled off by watching people and noting what their daily routines happen to be. That includes what you'd typically eat for breakfast."

Hermione nodded, rushing forward to stuff her face as full as she could get it. She was so hungry she hadn't realised how much of her mood had been affected by her empty stomach. As soon as she was satisfied she was smiling again.

"Oh dear Georgie," Fred sighed, munching on a pastry himself. "It looks like I've got myself a fake girlfriend that is susceptible to hangryness."

"Good luck with that Freddie," George sniggered.

"Oh hush you two," Hermione said, a good natured smirk on her lips. "Now, are you walking me to class or not?"

"Yeah, sure. What class have you got?" Fred asked, jumping off the table he was sat on and holding his hand out to her.

"Arithmancy," she said.

"Great, I've got transfiguration so I can cut through to Mcgonagall's classroom after you are safely at yours," he said with a grin.

Hermione took hold of his outstretched hand and together they walked out the door. George shook his head as he watched them go, knowing fine full well that his dear brother was not likely to get out of this façade with his heart. It was whether he'd tell the fiery little witch that he'd given it to her or refuse to admit it until it was too late and she'd crushed it unaware, that was the question.

.

Fred and Hermione passed several students in the corridor on their way up to Hermione's classroom. Fred ignored all of them, Hermione was not as good at being blissfully ignorant. The whispers and the murmurs that followed them made her more and more tense.

"Relax love, no one really cares," Fred said softly into her ear. "They're all just happy to have something to gossip about."

"Does it really not bother you?" she asked.

"Nope," Fred said.

They continued on up to Arithmancy, stopping outside the classroom door. Hermione shifted awkwardly, turning to look at Fred while trying her best to ignore the prying eyes on them from everyone else in the corridor.

"It'll pass. Soon enough, we'll be old news," he said.

Hermione simply nodded, looking over at the classroom door that her class was waiting to enter. As she turned back to Fred she was surprised to find him so close to her.

"Have a good morning love, I'll see you at lunch," he said, kissing her as if it were the most normal and natural thing to do. His hand came up to rest on her cheek and she found herself gripping his arm in an attempt to anchor herself to something. Fred's kisses were exhilarating, no matter how long or deep they were. Hermione couldn't believe she'd found herself thinking it, but they were so much better than Viktor's. Not that she'd ever tell Fred that.

Fred broke their kiss softly, running his nose down hers before stepping back. "See you later," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah," Hermione nodded dazedly, "see you later."

Fred doubled back on himself and bounded down the stairs towards Transifguration, reaching the classroom just before Mcgonagall shut the door and made him officially late. She gave him a stern look, much harsher than normal, before gesturing for him to take his seat. The rest of the lesson went on as usual, and it was only when it was over and the classroom began emptying did Mcgonagall call the twins up to her desk.

"I wish to speak to Fred," she said. "It is important, sensitive and not to be taken lightly."

"That's me, Professor, I'm Fred," Fred said, raising a hand and looking in confusion at his Head of House.

"Thank you," Mcgonagall replied. "George, you may go."

"Yes Professor." George frowned, eyeing Fred with worry as he swiftly left the room.

Mcgonagall had come to some sort of unofficial agreement with the boys very early on. They would tell her truthfully which twin was which on serious occasions. On all other occasions, so long as they were both fine swapping identities, she didn't much care.

"What's up Professor?" Fred asked, swallowing nervously.

"It has come to my attention that you are involved with a certain Hermione Granger," Mcgonagall said, eyeing Fred carefully.

"Yes, that's right," Fred said, frowning at the woman.

"Fred, I know that despite your jovial nature and your trickster ways, you are a kind and caring young man. And that Miss Granger means a great deal to you and your family," Mcgonagall said. She sighed and looked sadly at him. "Professor Umbridge is out for blood and she wants Hermione's."

"Well unless she's willing to physically spill it she won't be getting any," Fred growled.

"I'm glad you feel so protective of her," Mcgonagall said, a small amount of relief passing over her face. "I have heard that the two of you have been dating long enough for things to get rather intimate, but I suspect what happened was that she stepped in and saved you from expulsion. I cannot prove or disprove this theory and I am not looking to get a confession either way. I am here to tell you, that should you be lucky enough for her to have stuck her neck out for you, you need to protect it."

Fred nodded enthusiastically. "Of course Professor-"

"Fred, if you were to be expelled you would have a wizarding home to go back to and a family to support you. If Hermione were to be expelled, she would lose everything. She's been out of the muggle world so long she wouldn't stand a chance of securing a job worthy of her mental capacity, and with the way things are in our world right now, even graduating Hogwarts top of her class doesn't exactly give her an awful lot of options," Mcgonagall explained. "Umbridge will go above and beyond to break you both. She will reign down the might of the Ministry on the two of you if she has to. Hermione is everything she hates, and everything she feels is wrong with the wizarding world. She is a complete contradiction to all that purebloods stand for-"

"Not all purebloods," Fred cut in.

"Fred, while you are technically pure of blood, you are not a pureblood," Mcgonagall said.

"Professor, I promise, I will make sure Hermione remains at school even if I have to marry her just to prove a point," Fred said.

Mcgonagall smirked and shook her head. "I'm loving the sincerity but even I think that might be going a little too far. Not to mention, that as far as I've heard, you don't really do serious. And marriage, Mr Weasley, is very serious."

"Serious is the way I feel about protecting Hermione," Fred muttered.

"Just, take care and look after Miss Granger," Mcgonagall said. "She might be the smartest student in this school, but she's certainly not the toughest."

"She's a damn-sight tougher than you think," he murmured.

"I wasn't talking about her skin, Mr Weasley, I was talking about her heart," Mcgongall said softly. "I'd hazard a guess that yours probably isn't all that tough either."

Fred looked carefully at Mcgonagall, wondering what she was getting at. The woman seemed to have a secondary agenda. She couldn't possibly believe that he and Hermione would make a good couple for real, could she? If anyone was going to oppose their relationship for real, it would be this woman right here, surely?

"You don't honestly think we'd make a decent couple?" Fred asked, astounded.

"Mr Weasley, Miss Granger is the smartest student at Hogwarts, _on paper_. I believe she could use someone equally as smart _off paper_ to liven her up a bit and lighten her heart. A sixteen year old should laugh a lot more than Miss Granger does at the moment." Mcgonagall gave him a small smile. "You are dismissed Mr Weasley, thank you for your time."

Fred nodded and walked dazedly to the door, meeting George outside and wondering along the corridor to their next class. He filled his brother in on the conversation he'd just had with Mcgonagall, huffing at George since his only response was to whistle.

.

The rest of the day passed with a fair amount of normalcy, both Fred and Hermione attending classes as usual. They met up for lunch, along with the rest of their friends and spent the hour down by the lake, wrapped up in coats and blankets. It was the second week of January, so there was a distinct chill in the air, but being witches and wizards, they could charm themselves warm (well, warm enough that it was bareable to sit outside, since they felt like zoo animals inside). Fred handed Hermione the book she'd been reading from the night before, sitting himself on the ground and leaning back against the tree.

"What's this for?" she frowned.

"Same thing as last night," Fred said, looking up at her as she stood staring at him.

"But last night it was to distract me from my anxiety and nervousness," Hermione said.

"Yep," Fred said, taking hold of one of her hands and gently pulling her into his lap. She gave an involuntary little squeak, her cheeks beginning to burn as he settled her in between his legs and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"Right, so, same thing as last night," Hermione said, nodding and letting out a shakey breath.

Fred watched her as she opened the book and began reading where she'd left off. His eyes seemed to roam over her face as she read and he smiled softly before setting his chin on her shoulder, watching his friends and joining in on their conversations from behind his (fake) girlfriend. He couldn't help the little glances he kept stealing at her, all the while wondering if it would really be that bad, dating for real.

Fred didn't do serious relationships for a number of reasons. The main one had something to do with him feeling absolutely terrified that one single person had the capacity to make or break you that way. He'd been hurt a long time ago by a girl he liked a lot, and he remembered how it had felt when she'd ended it. He couldn't help but think how much worse that would have been if his feelings for her had run any deeper, so he'd made a personal vow to himself that fun was all he wanted and all he really needed, especially since he was so young. This was the first time he'd found himself regretting it.

Hermione had relaxed into him the minute her eyes had hit the page. It unnerved her how easy she found it to sink into him, and that all it took was a good book to put her mind at ease when it came to their proximity. His arms felt nice around her, she felt safe and warm, and strangely enough she found herself actually trusting him and his intentions. It was hard to remember sometimes that it was all a ruse and that the pair of them weren't a real couple. Hermione sighed heavily, leaning back against Fred's hard chest a bit further. She blushed as he absently kissed her cheek before focusing back on something Lee had said to him.

.

Once lunch was over, the whole group picked up and began traipsing back to the castle. The twins, Lee, Angelina and Alicia had potions while Hermione, Harry and Ron had transfiguration. Ginny was due in Charms and Katie (who was a year younger than Fred and George) had History of Magic. No sooner had they crossed the threshold back into the school, Umbridge was upon them. Thankfully, Fred and Hermione had walked back to the castle holding hands.

"Miss Granger, Mr Weasley," Umbridge snarled. "I see you're still keeping up this ridiculous charade. Don't forget your detention tonight, 7pm."

"We'll be there," Fred said, squeezing Hermione's hand.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Professor," Hermione said flatly.

"You need to watch your tone Miss Granger," Umbridge growled. "I am your superior, you will show me the respect I deserve."

Hermione glared at her and took a small step forward. "I will show you some respect as a Professor when you show me some respect as a witch," she argued.

Umbridge tried to school her features but it was no use. Her lip curled up and her nose wrinkled in disgust. She couldn't believe the gall this girl had. Such a lowly little mudblood, speaking to her as though they were equals, or ever could be.

"Miss Granger, I treat all students with the up most respect, providing they aren't liars or cheats," Umbridge said, pasting that sickly sweet and all too innocent smile on her face.

Out of the entire group stood before her, Hermione was the only muggleborn. Alicia, Katie, Angelina and Lee were all half-blood like Harry, and the Weasleys were obviously pureblood. Before Hermione could open her mouth, Fred stepped in, looking angrier than anyone had ever seen him.

"Professor, it would appear as though you're insinuating that Hermione is a liar and a cheat," he said.

"As Miss Granger said yesterday, insinuating something and admitting it are two very different things," Umbridge said, her eyes glittering evilly behind her thin smile.

"Yes, but students insinuating sex on school grounds carries a very different consequence to Professors insinuating muggleborns lie and cheat their way into the wizarding world, wouldn't you say?" Fred bit back without hesitation. They all knew that's what she was getting at, they all knew it had very little to do with Hermione and Fred's new relationship.

Umbridge didn't even falter, it wasn't like there was anyone around to see her. And no one was going to believe a few teenagers who obviously hated her guts. "That's a big conclusion you're jumping to Mr Weasley. I may have been insinuating any number of things, most likely that you and Miss Granger are faking your relationship. But I suppose you could have taken it to mean that I think Miss Granger's perfect record isn't down to her talent or intelligence. You cannot prove that's what I truly believe, the same as I cannot prove she cheated. The same as I cannot prove you two had sex. But we _all_ know it to be true." She tipped her head a little, her smile widening. "Unless of course, we all know it not to be true? In which case you'd be a liar instead Miss Granger, wouldn't you?"

Hermione felt the tears burn the backs of her eyes and she clamped her hand even harder around Fred's. Her breathing had picked up and it was all she could do not to hyperventilate in the corridor.

"This isn't a lie," Fred said. "You can pull us and push us and pick us apart, but it won't matter. We are together and we will stay together regardless of your stupid little games."

Umbridge scoffed. "Mr Weasley, no matter how well you can play this little charade out, nothing short of an actual marriage would ever convince me that the pair of you are genuinely involved."

"You want him to marry her?!" George squeaked in panic, largely because he wouldn't put it past his brother to do something that outrageous. He'd only been playing along with Hermione for a day but it was long enough to have started going to his head.

"Of course I don't want him to marry her," Umbridge scoffed.

"It would be a waste of pureblood," Hermione said softly, Umbridge's eyes glinting in agreement.

"I'm merely pointing out that I am so unconvinced by your performance, that even if you manage to keep it up long enough to refrain from punishment, I won't ever believe this was real unless you actually get married." She smirked nastily at them and nodded her head as if challenging them to reply.

"Trust me Professor, you're only hope is that these two _are_ playing you," George said. "Because if they actually get married for real, the wizarding world won't ever look the same again."

"That's absurd Mr Weasley," Umbridge sniffed, pointing her nose in the air. "More formidable witches and wizards than Miss Granger have tried and failed to over throw our virtuous government. It's impossible."

"She's Hermione Granger, she can do impossible," Fred said with a growl.

"She will be out of this school by the end of the year," Umbridge sneered.

"Bring it on," Hermione whispered furiously at her. "Because I'm not going anywhere."

"We'll see about that," Umbridge said. Her nasty smile widened. "Seven o'clock, my classroom. Detention is going to be fun, is it not?"

Umbridge stalked past the group and out the castle door. They had no idea where she was going and they didn't much care. They were all shaken up slighlty.

"She's really out to get me," Hermione breathed, a wobble in her voice.

Fred wrapped her up in his arms, soothing her gently. He kissed the top of her head as he let her go. The rest of them all looked a little strangely at him, there was no one else around and so no need to play up their relationship. But they hadn't been there yesterday when Hermione broke down and cried in his arms, or when McGonagall had explained to him how Hermione would have nothing if they didn't pull this off. He knew it wasn't his fault they were in this mess, he'd never asked her to save him, but she'd done it out of the goodness of her heart because she cared about him. So now he'd save her, not because she asked him to but because he felt it was his responsibility, because he cared about her. And a lot more than he was supposed to.

"Hey, she's not going to get you," Fred said, slipping his hand along her jaw and gently bringing her eyes up to meet his. "She's not going to get you. We won't let that happen. _I_ won't let that happen."

Hermione sniffed, nodding her head.

"Come on, we need to get to class, all of us," Ginny said, drawing everyone's attention back to the time.

"I'll walk you to class," Fred said, looping an arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"But you'll be late for potions and Snape is the worst Professor to be late for," Hermione said.

"I don't care," Fred said. "I'm walking you to class."

"But Fred-" She squeaked as he pressed his lips lightly to her own.

"I'm walking you to class," he murmured, pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes.

"Okay," she said softly, giving him a small nod and letting him lead her gently up the stone staircase.

"We'll meet you in class Freddie," George called. "You might be smitten enough with that witch to walk halfway up the castle again, but us lot? Not so much."

Fred grinned at George, beyond appreciative of the way his twin could break tension. He could tell by the strange looks on most of their faces that they were all wondering the same thing; were he and Hermione really only pretending? And if Fred was being honest, in that moment, pretending was the last thing he was doing.

.

They walked silently up to Mcgonagall's classroom, Fred with his arm around Hermione and the rest of them all glancing suspiciously at them. He sighed internally, knowing none of them would understand if he tried to explain it. Hell, he didn't even understand. They got to the classroom door and Hermione sighed, turning to glance up at him.

"Well, thanks for the company," she mumbled.

"Always, love," he said with a smile.

Fred leant in towards her and pressed a kiss to her lips. It took her a little longer than normal to relax into him, kissing him back softly. Fred pulled back after a minute or two, resting his forehead on hers.

"Hermione, I've got you, I promise," he said, only loud enough for her to hear.

"Fred..." she murmured.

Before she could say anything, the classroom door opened and Mcgonagall stepped out. Hermione jumped back from Fred like she'd been burnt and turned to face her Professor with blushing cheeks, her eyes on the floor.

"Good afternoon class, please go and take your seats," she said crisply. "How very nice to see you again Mr Weasley," she said, clasping her hands and turning to their small group. "As much as I do enjoy your infrequent attendance during your own class hours, I do believe you have another lesson to be getting to? Or skipping?"

Fred grinned and nodded as she turned her attention back to the rest of her class. Hermione blushed harder and felt her eyes well up. She took a deep breath before stepping forward and towards the classroom. She didn't get very far before Fred wrapped his hand gently around her elbow and tugged her back.

"Are you going to be okay love?" Fred asked, cupping her face with his hand and forcing her eyes to his.

"Fred..." Hermione murmured again, her lip wobbling.

"Is everything okay here?" Mcgonagall asked, frowning at rhe pair of them.

Hermione backed away quickly and nodded. "Yes Professor, I'm so sorry-"

"We ran into Umbitch on the way here," Fred said.

"Fred!" Hermione shrieked.

"Umbitch?" Mcgonagall pondered. "I like that," she chuckled quietly.

Hermione gaped at her, looking around for witnesses but realising she was alone in the corridor with Fred.

Fred's features hardened as he continued speaking. "She basically told us it was her mission in life to get Hermione kicked out of Hogwarts, and that she would stop at nothing to make that happen."

"I see," Mcgonagall growled.

"It's fine Professor-" Hermione started.

"It's not fine!" Both Mcgonagall and Fred barked at her.

Mcgonagall smiled softly at Fred.

"Hermione, it's _not_ fine. It's _not_ okay. You're sixteen years old, she's a teacher, a grown woman! She should not be bullying you and intimidating you the way she is!" Fred huffed. "It's not right!"

"No, it's not," Mcgonagall said. "I wish I could do something, _anything_...but she's employed by the Ministry...they'll take her word over just about anyone's..."

Hermione frowned and took a deep breath. "You think she intimidates me?"

"She tries," Fred said, chuckling at the fiery witch.

"Yes, _tries_ being the operative word," Hermione said. "I'm scared, yes, I can admit that. If she succeeds, I'm screwed...but _she_ doesn't scare me. She's a sad, lonely, toad of a woman with nothing better to do than pursue some misplaced and ridiculous vendetta against a teenager she barely knows."

"Well, when you put it like that, we might not have to get married after all," Fred sniggered.

"Fredrick Weasley, if I get kicked out of Hogwarts, I will march you down the isle quicker than you can say 'whoops' because marriage is the only other way I'd get to stay in this world and with my friends." Hermione glared at him.

"You look terribly serious about that right now," he croaked.

"Because I am!" she snapped.

Fred swallowed nervously and nodded. "Yes dear," he squeaked, unable to quell the smirk on his lips entirely.

"Fred, I mean it," Hermione growled, her hands coming to rest on her hips. "Unless you want to spend the rest of your natural life chained to me, you really need to start taking this seriously!"

"Love, unless _you_ want to spend the rest of your natural life with a prankster for a husband, _you_ need to lighten up," Fred said, quirking an eyebrow at her. "You do realise that husbands are not _chained_ to their wives in this century?"

"Honestly, you're impossible sometimes," she hissed.

"But you're still in love with me anyway," Fred sniggered. "So what does that make you?"

Hermione opened and shut her mouth several times, wanting to scream at him that she didn't love him nor would she ever, at least not in that way. But to do that would be to declare Umbitch the winner of her sick and twisted little game, and Fred knew it.

Mcgonagall simply chuckled, wrote Fred a note for being late to potions and told Hermione to join the class when she was ready. Hermione glared at her favourite Professor('s back) as she left.

Fred laughed at the small witch as she stood on the spot, furious at her predicament. He wasn't laughing long when said witch marched right up to him and wiped that smug look off his face by sticking her tongue down his throat. Hermione flung her arms around his neck and pushed her delectable little body into his, his eyes still wide as saucers, waiting for him to react. Not a second later, his hands were around her waist and he was snogging the life out of her. He moved to grab the back of her neck with one hand, his other sliding down to cup her arse. He expected her to squeak when he gave it a good squeeze, so the soft moan that rumbled up through her throat completely fucking floored him.

A minute later and Hermione pushed herself away from him, the smug look that had been on his face was now all over hers. She smoothed her skirt down, tidied up her hair and shook herself out of it before waltzing back into the classroom as though she hadn't just turned Fred's life upside down on it's head. Playing pretend was hard enough when it was all for show, but she'd literally just jumped him in the middle of a deserted corridor just to win an argument. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, other than knowing he needed a good cold shower or a decent wank before he'd be able to sleep that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Fred spent the rest of the day in a sort of haze, not even George could get through to him. He kept thinking over and over again about how Hermione's kiss was the best thing he'd ever tasted. He was beginning to regret taking dating-for-real off the table. He shook his head and sighed, it didn't matter. Hermione would never actually want to date him for real. He was the opposite of everything she was. He didn't care about school or grades, he never took anything seriously and all he was looking for was a bit of fun. Sure, he'd be up for dating her but he'd never be able to promise something substantial, something that ever went somewhere. Fred wasn't going to be ready to settle down for quite a few years yet, and since the witch didn't do fun he'd only feel like he was stringing her along for his own amusement. He sighed again and George gave him a sideways glance.

"Okay Freddie, spill it," George said.

"Spill what?" Fred asked, absently staring at the floor.

"Whatever is going on in that head of yours!" George cried. "I'm guessing it's something to do with Granger."

"No!" Fred cried.

"Me thinks the man doth protest too much!" George said.

"I am not hung up on Granger," Fred snapped.

George laughed. "I never said you were mate, you said that."

Fred growled, knowing he'd basically put his foot in it.

"So, you finally ready to admit that you're hung up on Granger?" George asked.

"Would that really be so insane?" Fred murmured, looking worriedly up at his brother. "I know she's a bit of a swot and a goody-two shoes, and she's not exactly relaxed and carefree or someone who can just roll with the punches-"

"I don't know Freddie, credit where credit's due, she rolled with the punches just fine when she faced off against Umbridge," George said.

"So, you don't think I'm insane?" Fred asked.

"Mate, I think you're fucking nuts! She's Granger. She'll eat you alive." George chuckled as Fred's face fell. "But I don't think you're insane for getting so easily hung up on her. She is pretty hot, she's got a wicked tongue and a fiery temper. Her wit matches yours perfectly, and you both look at each other like an argument is foreplay. You're insane but there's nothing actually wrong with you, if you catch my drift."

Fred huffed and shuffled his feet. "She kissed me, again."

"And?" George frowned, they'd kissed plenty of times.

"We were alone, in the corridor," Fred said with an audible gulp. "She, she did it to wipe the smug smile off my face..."

George whistled. "Did it work?"

"What do you think?" Fred scoffed. "I haven't been able to get that kiss out of my head all damn day!"

"So ask her out for real," George said.

"I can't do that," Fred huffed. "She doesn't do fun, she only does serious and I can't give her serious, at least not for another three to five years. Plus, if she says no, which she will, I've then got to carry on this rather ridiculous and awkward charade so she doesn't get expelled. It's hard enough as it is now George, but trying to carry on knowing that she knows I like her..."

"I think you're shit out of luck there," George laughed. "It's obvious you're both into each other even when you aren't acting. Painfully obvious, actually."

Fred shook his head. "This witch is going to be the death of me," he grumbled.

"Yeah, probably," George said. In another eighty years or so, he thought.

Hermione spent the rest of the day with the same smug smile on her face that she'd wiped off Fred's. She sat opposite him at dinner, laughing at how put out he seemed. She was so proud of herself, it wasn't often someone could get one over on a Weasley twin.

"What's up with you?" Harry asked, frowning at Hermione. She'd been in such a good mood all afternoon and it seemed odd considering she had her detention with Umbridge in less than an hour.

"Nothing," Hermione said.

"You've been grinning like a loon since you walked into transfiguration, did something happen with Mcgonagall?" Ron said.

"No," Hermione said innocently, trying to quell a smirk.

George snorted. "I believe she found a way to wipe the smile off Fred's face." He nodded at his twin who seemed to be huffing his way through the meal.

"How'd you manage that?" Alicia frowned.

"How'd you think?" Fred muttered.

"I don't know, it is Granger. And you are notoriously difficult to ruffle," Angelina said.

Fred huffed again and looked up at the witch who'd invaded his senses and every thought in his head since she'd waltzed into Mcgonagall's classroom. He found Hermione smiling softly back at him and it threw him for a loop even more so. His eyes came to rest back on the table as he swallowed thickly.

"So what did you do?" Katie asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I gave him a taste of his own medicine."

"How?" Alicia cried, clearly upset that she wasn't privy to this piece of information.

Hermione shrugged again. "That's between us. And George."

Fred's gaze snapped up to Hermione.

"Why George?" Katie frowned.

Hermione wanted to snort but she kept it from escaping. To her, the answer was obvious. "Because they tell each other everything."

George gave her an appreciative nod. He was even more impressed that she didn't seem put out by it at all.

Angelina laughed. "Not everything..." She looked at George with a sultry sort of smile, which didn't last long when George turned a guilty shade of red and Fred started sniggering. " _Everything_?!"

George nodded, giving her a sheepish smile. "But then, are you going to tell me that Alicia and Katie have no idea what you're talking about?"

"That's different! We're girls! Girls are supposed to talk about stuff like that!" Angelina huffed.

"Why aren't boys?" Hermione asked. "Especially boys who've literally shared every waking moment with each other since they were born?"

"Because! I don't know...they're boys!" Angelina growled.

Hermione blinked at her. She had to know how ridiculous that sounded and that it wasn't a valid argument.

"Yeah, come on Hermione. It's a complete betrayal of trust for guys to talk about the girls they've slept with!" Alicia argued.

"Only if both parties have agreed not to tell anyone," Hermione argued back. "It's not like Angelina didn't tell you and Katie."

"That's different!" Katie cried angrily.

"How?" Hermione asked, genuinely confused.

"Yeah, how?" Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Lee and even Ginny all reiterated.

"Because we don't talk about how big your tits are or the shape of your arse. Or how tight you are or the way you screamed!" Alicia hissed. "We talk about the way you made us feel and the emotion behind it all!"

"So Angelina never mentioned how big my brother's dick was?" Ginny asked. "Only, I haven't seen it since he was about five and there's a very vivid description floating around the school. I've nearly been sick twice."

Angelina stuttered and stammered while George snickered and high-fived his little sister.

"You don't care?" Angelina asked, her own face flushed with guilt.

"Girls, that is the only difference between boy talk and girl talk. We don't give a shit when you tell all your friends. That, and we don't actually tell all our friends. I told Fred and Lee about what happened between me and Angie, but other than saying she was fucking gorgeous, I wasn't all that descriptive. Guys aren't into detail the way you lot are. At least us guys aren't." George shrugged and looked across the table at them.

"Wow, were we advocating double standards or what?" Katie muttered.

"So we were wrong. Now, what happened between you and Hermione outside transfiguration?" Alicia asked. "Seen as we're all sharing."

Hermione mimed keeping her mouth shut, George simply shook his head and sniggered while Fred stuttered a few times and shoved another sausage in his mouth.

"Shit Granger," Lee murmured, looking at the flustered twin. "I think you might have actually broken him..."

"He'll be okay. We've got detention in a bit. That'll sober him up some," Hermione said.

"I really want to know what you did to him," Katie sulked.

"Yeah, you really should share Hermione. He is our friend after all and we deserve the leverage," Alicia sighed.

Hermione did her best to hide the jealous pang that radiated from the middle of her stomach at the thought of any other girl doing what she'd done to Fred. She merely scrunched up her face in thought and looked at the charmed ceiling.

"Trust me," Fred murmured, just loud enough for the lot of them to hear, "no one could do what Hermione did."

"How do you know if we can't even try?" Alicia asked.

"Because you already have and it hasn't worked," Fred said.

"What?!" The girls squealed and all tried to start guessing what it was Hermione could have done to him that they'd possibly tried in the past. Hermione blushed and tried to quell the jealous pang-turned-dragon raging around inside of her. She was more than a little upset that the girls had had their way with Fred, and she couldn't quite work out why. Actually, that was a lie. She knew exactly why; because it was real with them and it wasn't with her.

Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head, obviously having figured it out already. Harry decided it was going to be easier to pry it out of Ginny than either of the twins or Hermione, and he was right since it was just getting to that time where Fred and Hermione had to make their way up to Umbridge's classroom. Ron was still too interested in the table and it's contents to really care all that much about what his best friend was doing with his older brother, or more precisely he was rather enjoying the reprieve of having to think about it.

Fred heaved a great sigh and stood up from the table, Hermione doing much the same. The two of them ambled along the table and towards the door before meeting at the threshold and reaching out to hold hands. George gave them both a miserable nod and watched as they left.

Hermione breathed in deeply as she walked, squeezing Fred's hand gently as he ran his thumb across her skin in an attempt to comfort her. They walked most of the way in silence, wondering what terrible punishment the witch would have for them once they reached her office.

"It's going to be okay, love," Fred murmured as they approached the door.

"It's going to have to be," she muttered back.

Fred knocked on the door and waited for the toad to answer. After hearing her high pitched tone, they pushed the door open and walked into the room. Umbridge looked at them, a wicked smile on her pursed lips.

"Ah, you two. Take a seat, please," she gestured to the desk set in front of hers. "Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, you'll both be writing lines with the quills provided."

"Where's the ink?" Fred asked.

"They fill themselves," Hermione answered darkly. She'd seen the state of Harry's hand after he got back from detention with Umbridge.

"Like muggle pens?" Fred frowned.

"If muggle pens were filled with the blood of the person writing, yes," Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"What?" Fred paled.

"Prepare to feel some actual pain," Hermione muttered under her breath.

Umbridge cleared her throat as the pair sat down. "Now, Mr Weasely, you shall write _I am better than this_ and I want it written one hundred times."

"I am better than this?" Fred was puzzled.

"Mr Weasley, you are above your reputation. You are smart, successful, and could be an incredibly powerful wizard. You are above such antics as I saw today," Umbridge explained. "You are better than some of your more recent decisions." Her piggy little eyes flickered briefly towards Hermione before landing back on him. Fred got the message, they both did. Fred was better than Hermione.

"Miss Granger, you shall write, _sex is not a school subject_ , and I want it written twenty times." Umbridge waited for her to say something, hope in her eyes that she would. When it was apparent that she'd have no such luck, she huffed, cleared her throat and continued. "Once you have finished with your twenty lines, you shall proceed to clean all the tables and chairs in my classroom with the bucket of warm soapy water I have provided. I shall keep my office door open so I can keep an eye on you."

Both Hermione and Fred nodded, each of them picking up their quills and looking to Umbridge for instruction.

She gave them a twisted little smile. "You may begin."

Hermione started scratching her quill across the page, feeling the sharp sting of the words as they etched themselves into her skin. As she finished her first line she looked across the desk towards Fred. He was frowning but didn't seem to be in any real pain. Maybe his quill didn't do what hers did, maybe Umbridge didn't want to spill the blood of a pureblood. She began her second line, her eyes flicking down on her hand that was slowly starting to bleed. It was then she realised how sick and twisted the woman sat opposite them was.

Hermione's hand stung as Fred continued to write. _I am better than this_ scratching it's way onto _her_ skin, not his. She felt tears pool in the back of her eyes as he was forced to etch those words into her hand, against his knowledge too. Hermione took a deep breath and scribbled her own lines as fast as she could, just to get out of the same room as Fred in the hopes that he wouldn't see. After two more minutes, Hermione got quickly to her feet, hiding her bloody hand in her robes as she crossed the space towards Umbridge.

"I'm finished with my lines. Please could I start cleaning the classroom now?" she asked.

Umbridge grinned, loving how the little mudblood was asking permission to clean. "You may."

Hermione nodded and fled into the classroom, taking a deep breath as her hand continued to throb with pain. It was then she understood the cleaning of the classroom. Soapy suds on a fresh cut that just kept getting deeper...the woman was a sadist. Hermione did her best to clear her mind of the pain and think of something better, something distracting. The only thing she could come up with was to re-live the few kisses she'd shared with Fred in the last two days. Nothing else seemed to take her mind off the pain.

She tried thinking of school, of her homework and what she wanted to write in each of her essays but she found herself almost screaming out in agony after a few minutes. The memory of Fred's kisses, if she let herself really sink deep into them, made her actually smile despite the pain she was in. She was torn between letting herself go there and fighting against the hurt, not wanting to confuse her already frazzled brain.

She liked Fred, a lot. She'd have more with him if he'd only be willing to give it. She didn't want to linger on what she'd already shared with him, it was too much, but one look at the stony, infuriated face of the pink toad after seeing her smile like a loon, practically made her mind up. She spent the rest of detention dreaming about Fred and his kisses, and occasionally other things he could do to her if they ever got that far, which she doubted they would.

"Hermione?" Fred called, frowning at the witch and the dreamy look in her eye. Her smile was soft but alluring, the kind of smile that made Fred yearn to know what she'd been thinking about. "Hermione?"

"Huh?" Hermione snapped out of her daze and looked up at him. She blinked slowly and then turned to Umbridge.

"You are free to go Miss Granger," Umbridge snarled through gritted teeth.

"I'm not sure she's very happy that you seemed to be enjoying detention as much as it looks like you did," Fred said with a smirk.

"Good," Hermione said, dropping the sponge back in the bucket and quickly hiding her hand back in her robe.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Fred said, holding his hand out to her.

Hermione nodded but didn't take his offered hand, instead she walked around him and out the door. Fred frowned but followed anyway, wondering what was wrong with her. Considering what he'd been told to expect from Umbridge's detentions, they'd got off pretty light, or so he thought.

"Hermione?" Fred called, coming to walk beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked, offering her his hand again.

Hermione cursed him. It was the wrong bloody hand, and it would be way to suspicious to walk around him again and take his other hand instead.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just tired and...you know, we aren't really supposed to be holding hands on school property. Educational Decree number five thousand and eight, students aren't to be within one hundred feet of each other, or something to that effect," Hermione said, trying to sound sarcastic and witty but instead sounding pained.

"Okay..." Fred said, not really buying into it. After a small silence he started talking again. "So, that wasn't quite as bad as I thought it'd be. Especially after what you said about her quills. Where d'you hear that from anyway?"

"Harry," Hermione said.

"Oh, well, we must have had different ones," Fred said with a shrug.

"Mmmm," Hermione said. The pain in her hand was now so intense she wasn't sure she could speak without wincing. Gritting her teeth was about the only thing stopping her from crying. She didn't want Fred to see. She didn't want to put him through that.

"Okay love, what's going on?" Fred said, pulling her to a stop.

"Nothing," she said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.

Fred was too quick and too clever. Before Hermione even had chance to carry on moving, he'd grabbed hold of both her forearms and pulled them up towards him, his eyes trained on her hands. Hermione twisted them with all her might but he was too strong for her and she knew the minute he'd seen what was written there because his whole body went rigid, his face was pale and he looked like he was going to be sick.

"Hermione..." he whispered, gaping at her bloody hand.

"Fred..." Hermione answered, looking pleadingly at him.

" _I_ did that," he said. " _I_ wrote that. Those are _my_ words, in _my_ handwriting..."

Hermione shook her head fiercely. "No," she said firmly. "No!" she yelled again, stomping her foot and forcing Fred to look at her.

"Hermione... _I_ did this," he murmured, his eyes so full of pain and regret as he gently shook her scratched up hand.

"No Fred, you didn't. _Umbridge_ did. You didn't do anything. You didn't even know!" Hermione said, tears streaming down her face now.

"Why wouldn't you tell me? Why on earth did you let me carry on and write this _one hundred times_?!" Fred asked, looking at her in anguish.

"Because I wasn't going to let her win," Hermione hissed darkly, her eyes blazing.

"Let her win? Hermione, you're bleeding. You're hurting. This isn't normal, this is abuse!" Fred cried. "We need to tell someone about this. We need to go to Mcgonagall."

"No!" Hermione said. "I don't want to go to anyone! I don't want her to think she successfully intimidated me! She's fucking psychotic, she'll have an answer for everything and she'll say we made it the fuck up!"

"This is wrong!" Fred roared.

"I know!" Hermione screamed back. She took in a great hulking deep breath and tried to calm herself. She thought of Fred's lips on hers and suddenly the pain was gone and she could breathe again, just long enough to think clearly. "I'm sorry Fred. I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but it wouldn't have changed anything and I didn't want you to know what you were doing, I didn't want you to know what happened at all."

"She forced me to hurt you without my knowledge. My words, my handwriting..." Fred lifted her hand and stared at it again. "I'm better than this." He scrunched his face up in disgust and looked away. Hermione finally understood his complete revulsion.

"Fred, I know the words meant nothing to you-"

"She made me carve that into your skin so that every time I see it, I'm reminded of your blood status and mine. I'm reminded that too many people in this world believe that I _am_ better than you, and for an hour tonight, I was forced to comply with that opinion and write it a hundred times as if it should be my own," Fred said, his voice deep and dark and so full of hate. "You have no idea how much I loathe myself right now..."

Hermione shook her head exasperatedly, tears coming to her eyes. "No, Fred. No..." She sobbed softly. "That's exactly what I didn't want."

"Well, it's all I've got," Fred sighed.

"I'm sorry Fred," Hermione sniffled.

"Sorry?!" Fred looked horrified. "Hermione, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. _I_ was the one who hurt _you_."

Hermione shook her head again. "Umbridge hurt me. Not you. You saw me through the pain."

"What?" Fred frowned.

"Remember? Umbridge was furious because I looked like I was enjoying myself?" Hermione said, not really wanting to tell Fred what she'd been thinking of, but most certainly not wanting him to feel so at blame. "I'm not a masochist Fred. I don't enjoy pain."

"What were you smiling about then?" he asked.

"I was...well...look, I'll tell you if you promise not to let it go to your head," Hermione said quickly.

"Me? You were smiling about me?" Fred smirked, momentarily forgetting about her hand. "Too late love, if that's the case it's already gone straight to my head."

Hermione sighed. "I was reimagining the kisses we've shared. Specifically the first two and the last one."

"Hmmm," Fred said, holding her gaze and absorbed in thought.

Hermione squeaked as Fred swiftly stepped into her, wrapping both his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against him. His lips were on hers before she could protest and it felt wonderful. If dreaming about this was enough to have subsided the pain, actually experiencing it was enough to get rid of it all together. Hermione felt the wound on her hand begin to warm pleasantly, an odd sensation given that it was causing her so much pain not two minutes ago. She broke away from Fred for just a moment, frowning down at her hand, and gasped.

The words on her hand were glowing, healing. Fred's own hand hovered above it and he smiled softly as she brought her eyes back up to meet his. Hermione was in awe.

"I can't make the words disappear..." he murmured. "The quill was obviously made with dark magic. But I can stop the pain and get rid of the worst of it."

"Fred, that's incredible," Hermione whispered, her wide brown eyes fixed on his.

"It's not, not really," he mumbled. His eyes searched hers as he blushed at her compliment. "Me and George had to learn a few decent healing spells, or we'd have been in the hospital wing most days and Madam Pomfrey would have reported us by now."

Hermione giggled softly, not wanting to ruin the moment. "Yes, I can see how that might put a dampener on things."

Fred leant in and captured her lips once again, quick and gentle. "I'm sorry Hermione. I'm so sorry..."

"I don't blame you," she said, her now healed hand coming to rest on his face, her thumb stroking along his cheekbone. "I thank you. For not ditching me and leaving me to the mercy of that witch, for sticking with me and trying to see this thing through, for being so patient with every hang up I've had in the last forty-eight hours...Fred, you've been amazing."

Fred surged back towards her, his arms wrapping themselves back around her body as his lips crashed back into hers. There was no quick and gentle about it this time, he ravished her. His hands found her arse again as her hands tangled in his hair, tugging tufts of it as their lips and tongues and teeth smashed together wildly. Hermione had never been kissed like this before in her life, and Fred had never kissed a girl the way he was kissing her. His hands squeezed her perfectly shaped backside and she groaned like she had done earlier that day, driving Fred into a frenzy.

With zero thought, he used the firm grip he had on her to lift her up and was beyond relieved to feel Hermione wrap her legs around him with absolutely no prompting neccesary. Not a moment later and Fred had walked the two paces it took to push Hermione against the wall, freeing his hands up for more exciting adventures. He ran his fingers through her hair and did a little tugging of his own, eliciting several moans from the devious little witch pressing into him. His mouth left hers and trailed hot and blazing kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Hermione whimpered as he caught her collarbone, burying her face in his shoulder and gently biting down to stop herself from making anymore noise.

Fred's hands took a wonder down her arms and found themselves at her waist, desperately wanting to feel the warmth of her skin beneath them. He tugged at her shirt, freeing it from the waistband of her skirt, and slipped his hand inside, running his fingers along the smooth skin of her stomach. He kissed his way back to her lips, his touch becoming softer and his movements slower and more intentional. It gave Hermione time for her mind to slow down and her brain to kick in again. Just as Fred's fingers skimmed the skin just below her bra, she finally woke up.

Hermione gasped and pulled back, well aware that her legs were still wrapped around Fred's waist. Fred seemed to sense that something was up, he could feel her tension beginning to leak back into her body and he sighed. He closed his eyes and leant his forehead against hers, breathing deeply, his hands still under her shirt and holding her firmly around her ribs.

"Fred..." she whispered, her hands losing their grip and relaxing in his hair.

"I know. Just give me a minute love, yeah?" he murmured, his voice pleading.

Hermione nodded slightly, her hands falling from his head and onto his shoulders. She waited for him to calm, feeling nothing but disappointment when he set her feet back down on the ground and slipped his hands out from under her shirt.

"Sorry...I got a bit carried away," he said quietly, a deep red blush staining his cheeks.

Hermione shrugged. "I did too..."

"Yeah, but you came to your senses a whole lot faster," Fred sighed. He ran his hands down his face and shook his head.

"There's a reason for that," she mumbled, closing her eyes in embarrassment. She came to her senses because she'd never been any further than that before, and the new sensation of having someone else's hands so close to her breasts jerked her brain back into play. Mainly because they were in a corridor, if she was being completely honest.

"I know. It's because you're smart and you don't let yourself get swept up in your emotions," Fred said.

"Actually, it's not..." Hermione said, her own cheeks now the colour of Fred's as she forced her eyes up to meet his. "It's because the furthest I've ever been before now, was a few heated kisses in an empty classroom..."

Fred blinked. He could not have heard that right. "Pardon...?"

"I, uh, have zero experience...I've never been with a guy the way I have with you..." She cringed at that and huffed a little bit. "I mean, not that we've done all that much, I know, but...I just...my brain kicked back in because...well...your hands...sort of like a rush of cold air...oh Merlin I'm rambling now-"

"Hermione stop talking," Fred said abruptly. There was a fanfare going on in his head at that moment and he wasn't sure what to do about it. "Merlin you drive me fucking crazy!"

"Oh..." She cleared her throat, ignoring the sting and the lump that was forming there. "Sorry..."

Fred laughed, the biggest smile on his face he'd ever had. "Shit Hermione, do you have any idea what you're doing to me?"

"Um...no, not really?" She frowned at him, wondering what the hell was going on in his head.

He shook his head. "Will you date me? For real?"

"What?" Hermione blanched, completely thrown.

"I am so into you it's insane. It's driving me insane. I am all types of hung up on you. I can't stop thinking about you, about the way you feel against me, about the way your lips taste on mine, about the way nothing has felt more right than when you're in my arms," he explained.

"But Fred, you don't do serious," she said.

"I want to do serious with you," he said, his eyes searching hers and his voice so sincere she couldn't have doubted it.

"What do you mean by serious? Like, you wouldn't be looking to break up any time soon or-"

"Serious like it would mean something," Fred said. "I mean, honestly, it's you. It's always meant something. I can't keep pretending like I'm pretending..."

Hermione took in a deep breath and looked up at Fred. His eyes bore into her own, so completely vulnerable. Her heart had melted with his words and she wasn't sure she could have refused him even if she wanted to. She'd only been pretending with Fred for two days and already she could feel that she was falling for him.

"Fred, it's always meant something for me, too," Hermione murmured. "I don't think I can keep on pretending I'm pretending either."

"So you'll be my girlfriend? My real girlfriend?" Fred asked, his eyes twinkling with hope and a small excited smile on his lips.

Hermione nodded, smiling herself. "Yeah, I'll be your real girlfriend."

Fred grinned and captured her lips with his own. The kiss only lasted a minute but it was the best one yet. It was the kiss that meant the most, the first real kiss between them, the kiss that promised a hundred more and more again.

 **Sorry it took a while, again. Thank you for all the reads, reviews, follows and favourites! You guys make it all worth it :) Hope this was a good instalment, there were a few parts I wasn't happy with (mainly quality of writing as opposed to plot)...anyway, till next time :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay guys...so I know it's been a while (six months is maybe more than a while?) I'm so sorry. I can't really explain why it's taken me so long! I lost my muse, life got in the way etc etc...all the usual. I just want to say that your reviews and favourites and follows have still meant the world to me, and I probably wouldn't have picked it back up again had I not felt tbe love for this fic. I hope to not leave it so long in the future, but I don't like making promises I'm not sure I can keep and you never know what's coming around the corner to knock you off the tracks next...**

 **I've tweaked the story a little bit to follow the books - just a quick edit to chapter 2 to change the bit where Fred and George don't kmow who the mauraders are. It's nothing you'll need to go back and read, but just in case anyone has a memory for random scenes and bits of convo (like I do)...**

 **Originally this whole fic was going to be one of those usual ones where Fred and Hermione are battling it out with their feelings and it takes them a whole story to get together...but then they went and did that in four chapters but the story wasn't finished and I was left a little but like** ** _what?!_** **So now, I've managed to work around the slight change of plans these two characters have thrown me and I'm back on track, albeit a slightly different track.**

 **This story will have ten chapters, but hopefully, if everything goes to plan and no more characters decide they know better, there will be two more parts of ten chapters each after this. I'm really hoping that news and the word count on this new chapter will make up for my seriously long break!**

 **Thank y'all who've stuck with it and exercised such astounding patience with me! This one is for you!**

Fred lay in bed the next morning, staring happily at the ceiling of his four poster bed. His smile was so wide it was beginning to hurt his face, but he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. He'd said goodnight to Hermione at the bottom of the stairs, just like he'd done the night before. Only, this time it was real and it meant something and he didn't have to pretend like he was pretending.

"Yo! Brother of mine, what's got you looking like the cat who got the cream and the bloody canary?" George called, bouncing across the room and dropping himself onto the end of Fred's bed.

Fred yawned, stretched and sat up, looking around the room to make sure it was empty and they were alone. He waved his wand and cast a silencing charm before grinning at George.

"I asked Hermione out and she said yes," he said.

"You what?" George looked at his twin in shock. "I thought it was gonna take you a lot longer than that Freddie!"

Fred shrugged. "After detention..." he peetered off for a second, his face growing solemn as he remembered the extent of Umbridge's psychosis.

"What happened at detention?" George asked softly. "I heard what happened to Harry at his. Did she make you magically etch lines into the back of your hand too?"

Fred shook his head, all his happy feelings gone as an image of Hermione's bloody hand floated through his head. It made him feel sick again.

"So what?" George frowned, seeing by the look on Fred's face that it must have been just as bad, if not worse.

"She uh...she made me...my quill, it was...it was somehow charmed to use Hermione's blood..." Fred mumbled, feeling absolutely wretched. He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. " _My_ lines were on the back of _her_ hand..."

George's frown deepened. "And hers were on the back of yours?"

Fred shook his head again, showing George his scar free skin.

"Just Granger's?"

Fred nodded.

"But why?"

"My guess would be that Umbitch didn't want to spill even a drop of _pure_ blood," Fred growled. "No matter how traitorous that blood supposedly is."

George shook his head this time. "That's sick man. I bet Granger didn't tell you till after the fact, right?"

Fred nodded again. "It's not like I'd have carried on writing the fucking things if I knew..."

"So, what did she make you write?" George asked tentatively.

Fred felt the bile rise up in his throat, forcing the words out despite the terribly bitter taste in his mouth. _"I'm better than this_."

"I'm..." George started to repeat, his frown morphing into a look of pure anger and disgust. "You etched into Hermione's hand ' _I'm better than this'..._?"

Fred nodded, rubbing his hands over his eyes. He couldn't even look at George.

"Why didn't you go to Dumbledore? Or Mcgonagall?" George asked.

"Because Hermione wouldn't let me!" Fred cried, his gaze finally finding his twin's. "I wanted to but she wouldn't let me! She said she didn't want Umbridge to think she'd won and when I pointed out that it wasn't a fucking game she told me it was her word against ours, and she'd likely tell everyone we made it up!" Fred heaved a great breath. "I couldn't argue with her. She wasn't wrong."

George sighed and leant back on the bed. Fred felt like his brother was scrutinizing every little thing he'd said, his eyes boring into him at the same time.

"I'm sorry," George said, dragging Fred's eyes away from his fingers and back to his. "I'm sorry that happened to both of you."

"It didn't happen to both of us. It happened to _her_ ," Fred muttered.

"No Fred, it happened to both of you. I'd hazard a guess she sees it that way too..."

"Maybe," Fred grumbled, shuffling around under his covers.

"So how did you end up together, for real? Especially after that?" George asked, watching a small smile began to play on Fred's lips and the little light came back on in his eyes.

"She's a fucking warrior, I can tell you that," Fred chuckled. "Umbitch made her clean the tables and chairs in her classroom while I...I wrote the lines." Fred swallowed, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut. "Fuck, she must have been in so much pain..."

George waited patiently for Fred to continue, knowing his brother needed time to work through the more abusive parts of the story.

"Anyway," Fred said, "by the time I was done, Hermione was scrubbing the furniture with a smile on her face. A fucking smile!" Fred smirked and shook his head again, this time in belated disbelief. "Umbitch was furious that she'd not broken her."

"How the fuck was she smiling through that?" George asked, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. "That witch is scary strong."

Fred chuckled, nodding and fiddling with his fingers again. His smile fell a little as he told George it was on the way back to the tower that he discovered what had really happened.

He cleared his throat and shook his head. "I felt so sick, and disgusted. I don't think I've ever hated myself more than in that moment," Fred murmured. "And I _know_ I'd never mean those words, and I know I had no idea what writing those lines was doing to her but...they were still _my_ lines, in _my_ handwriting...whether it was intentional or not, whether I was oblivious or not...that was still _me_. I still did that."

George nodded. He understood. No amount of telling Fred he wasn't to blame was ever going to quell the immense amount of guilt his brother felt, no matter how much he knew it logically to be true.

"When I started telling her how awful I felt, she started crying and _apologising_ , of all things! The witch is barmy, that's for sure." Fred sighed and smiled again, remembering what came next. "She reminded me that she'd been smiling when we finished detention, and that she wasn't a masochist. She said that it was me that made her smile, it was thinking about those few kisses we've shared that took the pain away..."

"Blimey!" George said, smirking at his twin. "Those must have been some kisses."

Fred laughed, shrugging coyly.

"What happened next?" George asked.

"I kissed her," Fred said. "Full on, like I've never kissed another witch ever in my life."

George laughed, his eyebrows high on his head. "You've kissed a lot of witches mate."

Fred nodded. "But I've never got so lost in them that I would have shagged them in a corridor..."

George's eyes grew wide. "You shagged Granger?!"

"No!" Fred said, laughing at his brother. "But I'm fairly confident that the main reason for that was because she stopped us."

"How far did you get?!" George asked eagerly.

Fred rolled his eyes. "No items of clothing were lost."

George frowned. "How the hell did you get so carried away clothed that you knew you'd have shagged her there and then?"

Fred shrugged and smirked a little bit. "I told you, I've never kissed anyone like I kissed her."

"Merlin, and Granger doesn't believe in chemistry!" George laughed. "She must have a damn sight more self control than you then," he snickered.

"Something like that, yeah," Fred grinned. He didn't feel like Hermione's lack of experience was much of George's business.

"So what, you just asked her out after that and she said yes?"

"Pretty much."

"So you can finally stop pretending that you're pretending," George said with a smirk.

Fred huffed. "Yes."

"Mate, I'd bet money that nothing you've done with Granger in the last two days was pretend," he snickered.

Fred threw a pillow at his head.

.

Hermione was sat by the fire in the common room. She'd had a surprisingly good sleep that night considering what happened during detention. She smiled to herself, feeling her heart swell with warmth as she thought about Fred. She was nervous still, despite knowing it was all real now. She still had no idea how to act around him or what to do.

Harry dropped down onto the sofa next to her. He looked at her sideways and she sighed. She didn't want to show him, because it wouldn't be long before he figured out that the scar on the back of her hand was not inflicted the same way his had been.

"Come on then," Harry said. "What did she make you write?"

 _"Sex is not a school subject_ ," Hermione mumbled.

Harry couldn't help the small snort that escaped his lips and Hermione closed her eyes, knowing he wouldn't be laughing for long.

"How many times did she make you write it?" he asked.

"Twenty times," she said.

"Oh," Harry said, looking quite taken aback. "So, it wasn't too deep then...?" He frowned, wondering what was going on. There was something she wasn't telling him. "Hermione?"

Hermione sighed, glancing around the room. She cast a quick muffilato on them, so no one could eavesdrop and then showed Harry her hand.

Harry frowned. "But this says _I am better than this_."

Hermione nodded. "My quill was a normal quill...Fred's however, was not."

"Fred's..." Harry's eyes widened as he realised what Hermione was getting at. "Fred wrote this...?"

Hermione nodded.

"How many times?" Harry asked lowly.

"One hundred," Hermione answered.

Harry growled. "Why didn't you tell him he was hurting you?"

Hermione let out a half-sob, half-laugh. She sniffed and looked at Harry. "I love that you knew I hid it from him."

"Fred would never do something like this on purpose," Harry said. "The only way he'd have continued writing, was if he was completely oblivious to what was actually happening."

"He looked so heartbroken when he saw it afterwards," Hermione murmured.

"I'm not surprised!" Harry cried. "He hurt you!"

"No! _Umbridge_ hurt me!" Hermione argued.

Harry nodded, a little too enthusiastically. "Yeah, she did. And every single other person in existence can see how blameless Fred is, but none of them were the ones who actually made the marks on the back of your hand Hermione. None of them have to carry around the weight of _knowing_ they did that to you, regardless of whether there was intent behind it or not."

Hermione huffed and twisted her fingers around in her hand. She hated when Harry was right. "I made him feel better..."

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. "D'you kiss him again?"

Hermione let a little smirk dance across her lips and shrugged a shoulder. "I accepted his offer to be his real girlfriend."

Harry laughed and looked at her with wide eyes. "Wow. I thought that was going to take a painfully long time and possibly include an intervention of sorts."

Hermione shoved him playfully and stuck out her tongue. "Well, it took hardly any time at all and culminated in me nearly losing my virginity up against a fourth floor wall..." she said, glancing quickly at him as her cheeks burned a bright red.

Harry coughed and blushed just as brightly. "Fucking hell Hermione, don't hold back will you?"

Hermione shrugged, nervously running her hands up and down her arms. "I pulled back because I didn't really want my first time to be a quickie where anyone could see us..."

Harry shook his head, feeling kind of surreal that she was still talking about this.

"Have you had sex yet Harry?" Hermione blurted.

Harry stuttered and stammered, looking anywhere but at his best friend.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I just don't know who else to talk to," she sighed. "Ginny and Ron are off limits, Fred is their brother. And I can't talk to Lavender or Pavarti since I don't want it spread all over school..."

Harry groaned and shook his head. "No. I haven't had sex yet. I'm barely stumbling through this thing with Cho. I have no idea what I'm doing or what she wants me to do..."

"She's still crying a lot?" Hermione said, more a statement than a question. "Sorry Harry."

Harry shrugged. "It's no biggie. At least you and Fred don't have to pretend anymore. You can just tell everyone it's real and we can all relax."

Hermione shook her head fiercely. "No, we can't."

"You can't?"

"No." She shook her head again. "We both decided that you and George get to know, and that's it. This is a big deal and if it all goes to shit, we don't want to have to tell everyone that we broke up and are back to pretending, since we're gonna have to play the part, so to speak, till the end of the year at least."

"Right..." Harry said, sounding completely unconvinced.

"Just, humour me, for now?" Hermione asked.

Harry chuckled and nodded, putting his arm around her and giving a friendly squeeze.

.

"Oi! Potter! Don't make me duel you for my witch!" Fred hollered as he reached the bottom of the stairs, breaking through the muffilato with a wave of his wand and a smile.

Harry laughed again and pulled Hermione in tighter. "She was my witch first Weasley."

Fred looked at him in shock, not expecting Harry to goad him so early in the morning. Hermione snickered and poked Harry in the side.

"The only person this witch belongs to, is herself," she said, moving away from Harry and folding her arms in defiance. She squealed when Fred rounded the sofa and pulled her to her feet, planting a sweet morning kiss on her lips.

"Morning," he said with a grin.

"Morning," she smiled, nervously tucking a stray curl behind her ear as she tried to ignore all the eyes on them.

Fred slipped his hands either side of her face and kissed her again, this time with a lot more heat. He let her go just as she'd started to lose herself in him, making her both annoyed and relieved.

"What was that for?" she hummed.

"Trying to loosen you up a little bit," he said softly. "Stop worrying about everyone else..."

Hermione took a deep breath and buried her face in his chest. She looped her arms around his waist and held on tight, enjoying the feel of his laughter as she heard it rumble through him. She felt a hand snake it's way up her back to tangle in her hair, loving the way his fingers massaged her head as he held onto her.

"Much as I love the contact, we're going to be late for breakfast. And I woke up especially early just for you," Fred said.

Hermione groaned, clutching the sides of his jumper a little bit tighter. "Has everyone stopped staring?" she mumbled into his chest.

"Yes."

"You're lying," she huffed.

"Yes," he said again.

"Granger, if you could keep your hands off my brother for five minutes, I'd really appreciate it," George called across the room loudly. "It's only been three days and I'm already forgetting what it's like to be a twin."

Several people snickered as they watched George approach the couple.

"Her company is much nicer than yours, Georgie," Fred said with a smirk. "She does a whole bunch of stuff you can't..." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Hermione slapped his chest gently.

"So I've heard," George said, winking at Hermione as she peeked out at him and turned a lovely shade of red.

Fred rolled his eyes, a little nervous about whether Hermione would still be okay with how much information he shared with his twin. It was one thing to tell George all about what went on between them when it was all supposed to be fake, it was entirely another to do it when they were actually dating for real. It was the one thing the boys struggled with when it came to dating; they naturally shared everything with each other and they'd learnt early on that there weren't many witches who were happy about that.

"Come on, let's get to breakfast," Fred said, peeling Hermione off himself and gingerly giving her a quick kiss.

Hermione sighed and nodded, taking Fred's hand and heading for the door, George and Harry trailing behind.

Hermione looked up at Fred as they walked the corridors towards the Great Hall. "I'm not mad at you, you know," she said. "I'm never going to mind how much you tell George."

Fred blinked at her, dropping her hand in favour of slipping an arm around her shoulder. He pulled her into him and kissed the top of her head.

"How the hell did I get so lucky?" he murmured.

Hermione giggled. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"I didn't tell him everything, by the way," he said softly. "Just the essentials."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I thought everything was essential..."

"Well yeah, it was," Fred said, trying to backtrack and stammering a little as he went. "It was all essential to me, anyway. But there was some stuff he didn't really need to know...and while I do share a lot with him, it's not like I give a blow by blow account of every single thing I get up to outside of his field of vision..."

"Just the essentials," Hermione said flatly, her unimpressed gaze still on his face.

Fred's head fell back and he groaned, more to himself than anyone else. "Look-"

He was cut off by the wicked little grin on Hermione's face. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, his lips twisting as she laughed, obviously enjoying having wound him up.

"I think you've finally met your match Forge," George chuckled from behind, having heard the whole thing.

"Challenge accepted Gred," Fred said.

"Oh no. Don't you dare pull me into a prank war with you," Hermione said, her expression one of abject horror.

"You started it love, my reputation depends on me finishing it," he said.

"Your reputation will be in ruins," she countered. "And so will mine."

"You shouldn't have started something you couldn't handle," he tutted playfully at her. "Besides, a little prank war might do us some good. Lighten the mood a bit and stop you overthinking everything, hey?"

Harry scoffed at that. "Mate, the only thing a prank war between the two of you is going to do, is level the school."

Fred laughed. "Like Hermione is going to do something so against the rules that it ends in that much destruction. She is a prefect Harry."

Hermione bit her lip and looked anywhere but at Fred. She could feel Harry's flat gaze on her face.

"Fred, you need to get to know your girlfriend a little better," he sighed, leaving them behind as he waltzed into the Great Hall and went to find Ron.

George was torn between laughing at the look on Fred's face or mimicking it. He decided upon following Harry, thereby alleviating the need for a choice altogether.

"Let's get to breakfast, I'm starving," Hermione said, her voice higher than usual and her eyes darting around the Entrance Hall.

"What did Harry mean?" Fred asked, having dropped his arm from around her shoulders to play with her fingers while she tried to formulate an answer.

"I really don't know..." Hermione mumbled.

Fred smirked, curling his fingers around her chin and gently turning her eyes to his. "I know about the polyjuice in second year...what else haven't you told me?"

"A lot. I haven't told you a lot," Hermione said, sighing in relief when she saw the twinkle in his eye. He was clearly very amused and very curious.

"What will you tell me?"

"All of it," she said. "But not right now, and not here. Maybe later."

Fred nodded and gestured towards the Great Hall, Hermione grinning as she started towards the tables. Her stomach was really beginning to rumble.

.

The day flew by quickly and by the time Hermione had sat herself down next to Fred for dinner that evening, it felt like only ten minutes ago they'd been at breakfast.

"So, how's everything going between the two of you?" Alicia asked, looking between Fred and Hermione. "The school is practically buzzing."

"Good, that's what we want," Fred said, nodding happily.

"You know," Katie said, "me and Alicia were thinking that if Hermione really can brew polyjuice potion, we could help out?"

"What?" Both Fred and Hermione asked, looking up at them in mild panic.

"It only takes a month to brew, which isn't long considering we've got about five left before the end of the year," Katie continued, ignoring the range of odd looks she was getting. "We just thought it would take the pressure off a bit, especially since Hermione was so upset at having to fake it with Fred for so long."

Harry turned wide-eyes to Hermione, watching his best friend gape like a fish as she scrabbled for an answer that wouldn't cause suspicion.

Ginny smirked, not really caring whether the 'fake' couple had got their shit together yet or not, but knowing niether of them would want to take the girls up on their offer regardless.

George looked at the couple and sniggered. "Now that sounds like a very thoughtful thing to do, doesn't it Freddie?"

Lee whistled.

Fred glared at his twin before addressing both Alicia and Katie. "Thanks guys, that's a good idea but I think we're going to stick it out for now. Hermione's okay with it now and I honestly think the whole thing is going to be easier to maintain if we keep it as simple as possible."

Katie smirked. "The last time I suggested we do something simple, you told me that nothing exciting ever happens when you stick to simple..." She wiggled her eyebrows at him and his cheeks warmed.

"I think it's too big of a risk," Hermione spoke up. "I can't be in two different places and we wouldn't be able to guarentee that we'd never run into each other..."

"Well, we could. If it was my turn to be Fred's girlfriend, you'd just have to stay in your dormitory," Alicia argued, shrugging at the witch.

Hermione forced the raging jealous dragon in her chest to calm down. "That wouldn't work. What if Lavender and Pavarti see you downstairs with Fred, as me, and then find me sat on my bed underneath a pile of books and homework? How am I supposed to explain how I got up the stairs so quick?"

Katie raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Concealment charm," she scoffed. "Besides, we all want to play a part in taking the Pink Toad down. I don't think it's fair that you get to have all the fun, especially considering your not all that into fun in the first place..."

"Katie!" Angelina cried, finally making a noise.

Fred was scowling at the witch, as was George. "If you want to help, keep spreading the rumours. Other than that, I'd prefer you keep your opinions to yourself," Fred said, his eyes flashing darkly.

"What?" Katie whined. "You're not upset that I called Granger out on being no fun, are you? Your kind of fun isn't for everyone you know Fred. There's nothing wrong with Hermione not wanting to run around the castle causing havoc...or having loud sex in an empty classroom, you know, to really convince people. I mean, it's not like we haven't done it before..." She smirked, winking at Fred and shrugging at Hermione.

"Okay, first off, that's super weird and disgusting," Fred said, holding a finger up at her. "You'd be in Mione's body-"

Alicia snorted. "We didn't realise that you were so repulsed by her-"

"Why in Merlin's name are you two being so bloody catty?" George snapped. "If you're jealous or something, you might as well say so now and promptly _get over it._ You're being complete and utter twats right now."

Alicia and Katie stilled and looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'd _never_ have sex with anyone who'd drank polyjuice potion," Fred said, frowning at the two of them. "It's too perverted, using someone else's body like that. I know it wouldn't really be them but it doesn't mean you wouldn't have intimate knowledge of them, does it?.."

The girls squrimed in their seats, glancing at each other.

"I hadn't thought about it that way," Katie mumbled.

"Me neither," Alicia murmured.

Angelina rolled her eyes at the pair of them and sighed.

Before anyone had chance to say much else, Hermione excused herself and left the Hall. Fred glared at his two friends and shook his head.

"What is your problem?" he growled. "The only thing Mione's done is save my bloody neck...any particular reason why you're looking to torment her?"

Alicia scoffed. "Oh come on Fred, it was just a bit of fun!"

"Yeah, and besides, she might have 'saved your neck' as you call it, but to us it looks like she's successfully trapped you in a relationship you'd never have chosen to be in if you didn't have to," Katie said, folding her arms and staring him down.

"Hey! Watch what you're saying," Harry snapped. "I don't like what you're implying. Hermione would never manipulate someone like that."

"That girl has a mean streak a mile wide," Katie countered, looking Harry dead in the eyes.

Angelina growled and rolled her eyes, again. "Oh give it up girls! You're only being this bitchy to see if the pair of them are really faking it! Although now I'm starting to wonder if maybe you really _are_ a bit jealous Katie?"

"I am not jealous!" Katie shrieked, a little too loudly. "What exactly am I supposed to be jealous of? No offense Fred..."

"Who is it your insulting this time?" he asked irritably. "Are you implying Mione is no competition for you, or that I'm the one not worthy of your attention?"

"Oh come off it, don't be like that," Katie huffed, pushing her food around her plate. "If you were that upset, you'd have gone after her, not George." She nodded her head towards his twin's empty seat.

"Believe me, I wanted to," Fred growled. "But it would seem as though she's stuck my arse to the bench..."

The small group all stilled and looked at him with perlexed expressions.

"She what?" Lee asked.

"She's stuck me to the fucking bench so I can't get up and leave," he snapped. "It's the second fucking time today she's got me..."

"Wait a minute," Ginny held her hand up, palm facing him, "Hermione has already got one over on you and now she's got you a second time? Before you even had chance to retaliate?"

Fred nodded, he could see Harry smirking from beside him.

"If we were taking bets," said Ginny, "I'd be betting you'd end up married to that witch."

 _I would not bet against you_ were the words that floated to the front of Fred's mind. Instead, he concentrated on trying to get himself unstuck while Ginny argued with Katie about his relationship with Hermione.

.

"Granger! Granger! Wait up!" George called as he followed the small witch as she stomped her way back up through the castle.

"Leave me alone George, or next time I'll glue you to your seat as well!" she snapped.

George huffed as he finally caught up with her. "No need to take it out on me. I did defend you..."

Hermione groaned and her stomping seemed to get a little less aggressive. "Sorry," she muttered.

George gave her a small smile and bumped her shoulder with his. "Why d'you leave and make Freddie stay?"

"Because it was easier than trying to evade him, and I'm not in the mood to talk right now," Hermione said.

"I'm sorry about Alicia and Katie," he said. "I don't know what their problem is-"

"Katie fancies Fred and Alicia just likes the drama," Hermione cut him off.

"You don't seem all that upset..." George noticed. "I thought you might be in tears or something..."

Hermione scoffed. "I left because I knew I was likely to do something everyone was going to regret if I'd stayed."

"Right," George nodded, "like what?"

"I hadn't made up my mind yet, which usually means something bad," she snarled.

George nodded again and walked quietly beside her. He noticed that the closer they got to the tower, the slower Hermione started to walk.

"You okay Granger?" he asked softly. He could see she was losing the fight in her now.

She nodded, clamping her mouth shut tight and focusing on moving forward.

"This way Granger," George said, taking hold of her and gently steering her in a slightly different direction.

"I'm going up to bed," she protested.

"No your not," he said, motioning for her to follow his lead.

" _George_..." she whined.

" _Mione_..." he whined back.

Hermione groaned. "Fine," she said, letting George push and pull her along.

He led her to a small classroom not too far away from Gryffindor tower. Once they were inside, he locked the door and cast a silencing charm. Hermione frowned at him, looking around the seemingly empty room. George grinned, lifting the concealment charm from the equipment in the room.

"Welcome to the production room of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," George beamed.

Hermione looked around the room again, this time in shock. There was so much stuff in this room. Potions bubbling, bits of scribbled on parchement strewn everywhere, finished products, designs hanging on walls, idea boards...it was really quite impressive if not a little haphazard.

"George," Hermione breathed. "This is amazing. Completely chaotic, but amazing..."

"Organised chaos, love. Don't forget the organised," he chuckled.

Hermione wrinkled her nose up at him. "Please don't call me that, I don't like pet names," she said.

George frowned at her. "Fred calls you that all the time."

"No he doesn't," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I'd have told him to stop if he did."

"Well you clearly haven't because he definitely does," George said.

"He really doesn't," she huffed.

"He really does."

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"I'm not having this argument with you George," she huffed, folding her arms. "Just don't call me that."

George raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, okay. To be honest, I was surprised I got away with Mione..."

"When did you call me Mione?" she asked with a frown.

"Literally not even five minutes ago," he said, replaying it for her. "For such a bright witch, you sure are a little oblivious at times."

Hermione shrugged. "I guess I just feel a bit out of sorts at the minute."

"And why is that, _Mione_ dearest?" George asked with a smile.

"If you're going to overuse it, I'll take away your privileges to use it altogether," she growled.

"Noted." George waited for a reply to his question, repeating it when he realised he wasn't getting an answer. "Why do you feel out of sorts?"

Hermione groaned and sighed all in one go. "I don't know!"

"Well, you and Fred are for real now, so I'd have thought that would make things less confusing, not more?" George said, moving around to one particular cauldron and checking on it's status.

"Yeah, but that's just it. I didn't think about the impacts of not telling everyone." She walked over to a small sofa and dropped into it with a huff. "When Katie and Alicia were saying all that stuff, I just wanted to set them straight. Tell them we were real-"

"So why didn't you?"

"Because if it doesn't work out-"

"Granger, what makes you think it's not going to work out?" George sighed. It was his turn to own an exasperated sort of tone.

"Well, for one thing, I sort of forced him into it..." She shrugged and grimaced at George.

George openly laughed at that. "Granger, there is only one person on this planet that has ever been able to make Fred do something he truly didn't want to, and that's our mother."

"Yeah, but-"

"Mione I'm serious," George said, his tone firm. "If Fred didn't want in on this, he'd have found a way out if it without getting you expelled. I know it. He's as wily as a fucking weasel when he wants to be." He shook his head, clearly remembering a bunch of situations Fred had managed to worm his way out of unscathed at the same time as avoiding collateral damage.

Hermione nodded, coming to see what George was up to. Her brow furrowed at the mess of paperwork on every surface.

"You know, you'd be far better off if it was organised properly instead of organised chaos," she muttered.

"We know, we're just used to working this way..." George paused, stirring the potion anti-clockwise twice and once clockwise. "We haven't got round to changing it yet, even though we know it would be much more efficient."

Hermione chewed on her lip as she thought, surveying the room. "I should take so many points from Gryffindor for this," she groaned.

George chuckled. "Yeah, you should."

She smirked at him and shook her head.

After another silent minute, George spoke up again, this time in a much softer, far more concerned voice. "Hermione, Fred told me about detention..."

Hermione's eyes snapped to his. She felt the sting of unshed tears and swallowed the painful lump forming in her throat.

"I just wanted to say I was sorry..." George murmured, clearing his throat and giving her a half-hearted shrug.

"Sorry?" Hermione whispered. "What for?"

"Well, it occured to me, that if Fred and I hadn't been pranking Umbridge-"

"Don't you dare!" Hermione barked, her eyes hard and her nostrils flaring. She stepped back, pointing a finger as she looked at George. The man visibly recoiled. "I already have one man carrying that when he shouldn't be, the hell am I going to allow you to add another."

"But Mione-"

"No!" she snapped again, waving her finger round. "I'm serious George. Don't you fucking dare!" She set her hands on her hips and stared him down. "Why is everyone _sorry_ for me? Do I scream damsel in distress that loudly or something?! I can hold my fucking own George and you can tell anyone who'll bloody listen! If I couldn't handle the pain I'd have made it stop, but I wasn't about to start playing that twisted witch's sick fucking game! I get that your brother is upset, and I understand why he feels so guilty even when he shouldn't. That's on me, that's the part I overlooked when I chose to ignore what she was doing instead of telling Fred what he was doing. But you do not get to stand there and tell me that you want your fair share of blame because you can get fucked, George Weasley. You can get absolutely and completely fucked!"

George was rooted to the spot, staring at her incredulously. "Wow..."

Hermione was breathing in and out quite rapidly. It wouldn't have looked amiss if smoke poured out of her nostrils.

"Hermione-" George started.

"I swear to God and Merlin George, if the next words out of your bloody mouth are 'I'm sorry' I will hex you to the back of fucking beyond..." Hermione growled.

"Uh...Hermione," George stammered, "I hear you and, and I promise never to be such an idiot again...?"

Hermione's breathing began to slow and George let out a small sigh of relief. He let out a much bigger one as Fred walked through the door, only to burst out laughing when he took in the sight of him.

.

"It's not bloody funny George!" Fred snapped, dark eyes glaring at his twin. His gaze snapped around to that of his girlfriend as a giggle escaped her lips.

"I'm sorry, but it kind of is," she laughed, looking at him in such good humour that he had to drop most of his anger and frustration.

Fred put his hands on his hips and looked at her, still unhappy but not buzzing with so much negative energy. Hermione laughed harder. His frown deepened and Hermione snorted, holding onto a desk for support.

"I'm sorry Fred, but I can't take you seriously dressed like that..." she sniggered some more and turned away from him.

Fred heard as George joined in with her, trying to keep the laughter at bay but finding it just too funny. Fred was standing in the room, dressed in everything but his trousers, which he'd had to leave glued to the bench.

Fred rolled his eyes and huffed. "Why Mione? Why would you do this to me?" He was practically pouting as he folded his arms, making Hermione laugh harder.

"I just...I knew you'd follow me," she said, still grinning even after getting ahold of herself.

"And?" Fred cried, flinging his arms out. "I'm your boyfriend. Of course I was going to follow you!"

Hermione felt her insides warm hearing him say it like that. "I didn't want you to follow me..." she said, looking a little guilty.

"Funny, I got that," he huffed, pointing at his non-existant trousers. "Any reason you didn't mind George following you?"

"I didn't think he would! Next time I'm going to stick him to the bench too!" Hermione said.

"What d'you mean _next time_?" Fred cried, his exasperation evident as his hands came to rest on his head. "Why are you assuming there's going to be a next time?!"

Hermione grinned sheepishly at him. "Sorry..."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, expect payback. Tenfold."

Hermione grinned and bounced over to him, grabbing his face and planting a huge kiss on his lips. Fred immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight into him. After a minute or two, Hermione pulled back a little bit to look at him.

"Uh Fred..." she cleared her throat, her face bright red.

Fred smirked. "All your own fault witch." He kissed her again, quickly this time. "I believe you're the one that got rid of my trousers and kissed me too well." He winked and she scrunched her face up, burying it in his chest.

George sniggered from across the room, making Fred look up and catch his brother's eye. Fred grinned at him and laughed when George threw him a spare pair of trousers from a cupboard behind him.

Fred pried Hermione off him to wriggle into the black muggle jeans George had thrown him, earning him a heated glance from the witch as she chewed her lip.

"Love, please...I told you what that does to me," he groaned. "It's a bloody good job we're not alone..."

Hermione chuckled, kissing him thoroughly again. George cleared his throat loudly from across the room.

"Sorry," Hermione muttered, stepping back from Fred and looking guiltily across at George.

"And you said chemistry wasn't important," George scoffed.

"It's not, but it certainly makes everything a little more interesting," she snickered.

Fred smiled, moving to stand by George as he looked over another potion. They garbled something between them and made some more messy notes before moving on to another station.

"So," Fred said, sticking his hands in his front pockets and leaning back against a desk as he crossed one foot over the other. "Why d'you not want to talk to me?"

Hermione shrugged, biting her lip again. The man had no idea how incredibly sexy he looked right then.

" _Mione_..." Fred groaned.

Hermione let go of her lip again and sighed. "I just...I needed a minute. I knew you'd think I was upset and, while I was upset it wasn't in the way everyone probably expected..."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Fred frowned.

"It means she wasn't running away so no one would see her cry, she _walked_ away so she wouldn't hex or curse anyone," Geroge explained.

"Oh..." Fred's frown got deeper. "So why did that mean you didn't want to talk to me? Was I someone you wanted to hex?"

"What?" Hermione looked at him, puzzled. "Why would I want to hex _you_?"

Fred shrugged, his cheeks a little pink. "I dunno..."

George sniggered. "I'm not playing mediator between the two of you forever."

Fred groaned and rolled his eyes. "I thought you might have been upset about what Katie said..." he muttered.

"Which bit? She said a lot that I didn't much like," Hermione grumbled.

Fred cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. "Specifically the bit where she mentioned sleeping together, me and her..."

Hermione stared at Fred. "Do you think I'm jealous?"

"Well I didn't, and then you and George said you weren't crying-upset so...I dunno..." He shrugged again. "Are you?"

"I'd be pretty stupid to be upset Fred. If your reputation is anything to go by, you've slept with a lot of witches. That's a lot of curses to send your way if I really was jealous," she said, smirking at him. "Trust me, I'm not jealous."

"So...?" Fred was not going to let her go without answering his question.

"I was mad! I was frustrated and angry, and when she made that dig about me not being into fun...I don't know. I guess it just hit a nerve," she said with a shrug. "I've been tormented my entire life for being a stuck-up prude-"

Fred's snort cut her short. "You are no prude."

Hermione looked confused. "Yes I am. I'm a virgin-"

"Mione, that doesn't make you a prude," Fred said. He'd noticed how George had stilled, wondering if Hermione had forgotten he was there or not.

"Of course it does!"

"Love, trust me," Fred said, standing up and smiling at her, "a prude does not kiss the way you do..."

Hermione huffed and shuffled on the spot. She folded her arms and looked up at Fred. "But-"

Fred shook his head. "No buts. Just because you haven't run around school shagging every guy you could, doesn't make you a prude."

"Besides," George called, looking up at her from his notes, "if you weren't a prude you'd be a slut." He shrugged. "You can't win either way."

Hermione tipped her head in agreement.

"So, being told you don't like fun hit a nerve, I get that," Fred said, back to his pursuit of an answer. "Why did that mean I wasn't allowed to run after you and talk?"

Hermione groaned and raised her eyes to the ceiling, hanging her head back and letting her arms fall. She paced up and down the room a few times, her hands curled up like claws. "I felt like it was a challenge and I used to react to them too quickly. I've learnt the best way to deal with it is to walk away and calm down. And I didn't want you to see me all riled up. It's not pretty and I can get kind of..."

"Scary?" George offered.

Hermione shot him a flat look.

Fred laughed and shook his head. "I don't scare as easy as George, love."

George shrugged in good nature. "I can't argue with that, _love_."

Hermione scowled at him. Fred looked confused, and maybe even a little hurt. That was until they both started talking again.

"I told you not to call me that," she grumbled, albeit half-heartedly.

"I told you Fred calls you that all the time and you wouldn't believe me," George said. "I was just proving a point."

Hermione huffed. "Consider it proven."

.

Hermione hung out with the twins for a few hours after that, digging her homework out of her bag and finding a spare space in a random corner of the room. They didn't get back to the common room till nearly bedtime. Fred squeezed her hand as they ducked in through the portrait hole, making her smile more than she wanted to. Harry, Ron and Ginny were sat by the fire and the twins followed Hermione as she went to join them.

"You okay Hermione?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Fred.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm fine. Bit tired but nothing terrible."

Fred dropped down into one of the open armchairs and gently dragged Hermione onto his lap. He nuzzled into the side of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Do you have to do that in front of us?" Ron grumbled.

"No," Fred sniggered, continuing anyway.

Hermione huffed and slapped one of his arms, looking at him irritably. "Stop it."

He pouted at her and she giggled.

"You two seem different," Katie said, seating herself (without asking) on the armchair opposite the couple.

Fred shrugged, seeing Angelina start to cuddle up to George while Alicia attempted to wriggle into the small space that was left between Harry and Ginny.

"Are you properly together yet?" Alicia asked, casting a silencing spell as she did.

"What do you mean _yet_?" Hermione asked.

"Well, since neither of you will let me and Alicia join in, it goes without saying that you fancy each other. A lot." Katie smirked, and not in a nice way. "So the yet is a more than appropriate assumption."

"So either, we give in and let you 'play' too, doubling the risk of being caught, since it's all a game to you, and I end up expelled not just from school but the entire wizarding world," Hermione said, staring bluntly at Katie, "or we agree with you that we fancy each other and become a real couple? Those are the two options you're giving us? Get together or give you a chance to get with Fred?"

The whole group gaped at Hermione, Katie included.

"I don't want to _get_ with Fred!" she part-hissed, part-squeaked.

"No, sure you don't," Hermione drawled sarcastically. "Because there's another well-known reason that you so badly want to play a bigger part in this...?"

Katie scowled at Hermione. "I don't want to get with Fred," she repeated lowly.

"Then stop trying to blackmail us into letting you get involved! Just because we aren't a couple and have no plans to be, doesn't mean we want someone else 'having a turn'. I might not have been thrilled to start with but that was more to do with trying to convince everyone that we _were_ a couple as opposed to having to _be_ a couple," Hermione huffed. "Having to act coupley around Fred was never the issue, it was all to do with everyone else's perception. I didn't want to screw it up."

Katie huffed and sunk back further into her chair, folding her arms as she did. "We were only trying to help, I don't know why you're taking everything so personally?" she sulked.

Hermione gaped at her. "Maybe if you didn't make every comment that came out of your mouth sound like a personal attack, I wouldn't react so _personally_."

"You are so sensitive!" Katie argued. "All I did was offer to lighten the load by doing things with Fred that I'm pretty sure would make you quite uncomfortable, but which would sell your story so perfectly you probably wouldn't have to worry about Umbridge for the rest of the year!"

"You could have sex with Fred in the middle of the fucking Great Hall looking like me and she'd still be a problem! You could go at it like rabbits in front of her fucking face and it wouldn't solve the issue!" Hermione had sat forwards on Fred's lap, her hands were flying and her complete and utter frustration was felt by everyone. "You just don't get it!"

"Of course I get it!" Katie snapped. "You've cornered Fred into a postion he can't get out of. He can't drop you, can he? 'Cause you'll be expelled and have to give up being a witch-"

"She'd be a witch whether she was expelled or not Katie," Fred cut in. "She can't give up being a witch, it's what she is. Same as every other witch."

Katie tutted. "You know what I meant."

"Yes, I do," Fred said. "But I didn't like how you made it sound."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Come off it Fred. It's not like I think I'm better than her. I'm not a pureblood either, and I'm nothing like Umbridge."

"No, but I expect if you were expelled you wouldn't think to yourself that you'd have to give up being a witch, would you?" Fred asked calmly. "You wouldn't be a qualified witch able to do magic, but you'd still be a witch and you'd still be a member of the wizarding world, right?"

Katie opened her mouth to scoff at him, but stopped herself. "Hermione couldn't stay in the wizarding world because both her parents are muggles. How is that my fault?" She seemed genuinely puzzled at how upset Fred was getting.

"It's not your fault," George said, taking over from Fred. "But implying that Granger wouldn't be a witch simply because she'd have to go and live in the muggle world, is."

"But that's not what I meant!" Katie cried. "It's not!"

"Then maybe you should think a little more about how you word things," Ron said, glaring at her. "We're a pureblood family and even we've never said she'd ever have to give up being a witch, as though she's only playing pretend anyway."

Katie stood up, glaring at all of them. "That's not what I was saying," she said, walking off and away from them.

Alicia looked around the group, not sure what to do or what to say. "She didn't mean it. She's not like that, you know she's not."

Fred shook his head and George sighed.

"They know Alicia," Ginny said.

 _"I_ know," Hermione said quietly. "Katie's never been like that. She's never cared about blood purity."

"But, she seems to think having a bit of fun and messing around with Fred are more important than Hermione not getting expelled," George said, looking forlornly at his own girlfriend.

Alicia shrugged. "She'd kill me for saying it, but you hit the nail on the head Hermione." She looked past her to the man whose lap she was sat on. "She likes you Fred. She's never really said it but I think she was kind of hoping that maybe one day you could be something..."

Fred shook his head. "Alicia..." He gave her a pained sort of look. "I know we've messed around in the past, and I feel like such a bastard for this, but I don't feel that way about Katie. She knew I was no strings attached-"

"I know. _She_ knows," Alicia said. "But I think it stings, because, no offence, but we can _all_ see that there are definite strings attached with you and Hermione. Whether you pair know it yet or not, those strings are there."

"I think she just feels hurt that you won't be honest about it yet," Angelina said softly. "You've been friends a long time."

Fred sighed. "To admit there's something between me and Mione is a massive deal. It changes everything, and not just between us. We just need a little bit of time to work out where we stand with each other before everyone else gets involved."

The group were silent for a few minutes, Harry and George obviously privy to insider information. Regardless of the fact that the two were dating, it was a sincere request that Fred had made.

"That's fair," Alicia said with a nod. "I can understand that. I'll try and talk to Katie."

"If she needs time too, I get that," Fred said, giving Alicia a heartfelt look as she walked off in the direction Katie had gone.

The silencing charm was taken over by Ginny as the group shifted around slightly, spreading out a little bit and taking in everything that had so far transpired.

Fred squeezed Hermione's middle, pulling her gently back into his chest. "You don't think you trapped me, do you?" he asked quietly.

Hermione shuffled further into him, swinging her legs over the arm of the chair and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said it hadn't crossed my mind..." she said, catching George's eye.

"Well, you're wrong, you know that, don't you?" Fred said.

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe I'm not wrong as much as I am lucky that you see it that way."

She glanced up at him and only just managed to stop the gasp that had tried to escape. His deep brown eyes bore into hers, so full of affection she couldn't help but think how much she'd have missed if she hadn't kissed him in the corridor three days ago.

"If I didn't want to be right here, with you, I wouldn't be. I promise love, I'm anything but trapped," he murmured, a hand sliding up her jaw and bringing her lips to his.

It was the softest kiss he'd given her, his lips moving gently across her own. It took her breath away like nothing ever had before. So sure but so simple, it made her heart pulse steadily in her chest, a growing warmth spreading out through the rest of her body. She'd look back on this moment and realise it was this kiss that sealed her fate. It was this kiss that had her falling in love with him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there, so just wanted to say, it's good to be back and hopefully the chapters will keep rolling out nice and gradual like. In this chapter I've used a some text and scenes from the book, some of it I've written my own way and other bits are direct quotes...so just a heads up that it's not 100% original and we all know I don't own whatever I've copied from JKR. Anyways, happy reading...**

A few weeks later, Fred dropped down onto the seat next to Hermione at the breakfast table in the Great Hall. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and grabbed a few sausages from one of the serving platters in the centre of the table. George dropped down into the seat the other side of him as the post owls descended on them all.

Harry and Ron arrived just as Hermione was tugging a letter from the beak of an unfamiliar brown owl. She ripped into it, visibly on edge with anticipation.

"And about time! If it hadn't come today..." she trailed off as she read the letter quickly, a grim but pleased expression stealing across her face. "Listen Harry," she said, practically oblivious to the rest of the small group that had now also arrived. "This is really important. Do you think you could meet me in the Three Broomsticks around midday?"

"Hermione, it's Valentine's day..." George said, raising an eyebrow and giving her a very puzzled look.

"And?" she said, frowning at him.

"And don't you think you need to spend the day with Fred?" George asked, looking from the witch to his brother and back again.

"Fred can come," Hermione said with a shrug. She turned back to Harry. "Look, I know you're spending the day with Cho, so bring her too if you want. But I need to know if you'll come?"

Harry glanced around the group and shrugged. "Well...alright. But why?"

"I haven't got time to tell you now, I've got to answer this quickly," she said, abruptly getting to her feet and hurrying out of the hall.

All eyes turned to Fred.

"Any insight Forge?" George asked.

Fred shook his head. "None."

"See, this is where we could have helped," muttered Katie. "It's going to look so suspicious if the pair of you don't spend Valentine's day together."

Fred narrowed his eyes at his old friend. Katie hadn't withdrawn from the group, instead she'd remained an outgoing and important part of it, something that would have made Fred happy if she didn't constantly ignore Hermione and continuously try to undermine their relationship (real or otherwise) with underhanded comments and pointed mutterings.

"What are you and Ange doing?" Fred asked his brother, instead of snapping at Katie.

George grimaced at his twin. "Nothing. She wants a full day's training, so I'm all alone for this trumped up holiday."

Fred snickered. "You're more upset you can't fly with her than you are that you can't spend v-day with her, aren't you?"

George nodded. "Like you'd be doing anything much with Mione if you weren't having to keep up appearances?"

Fred shrugged.

"No, he'd be free to ask whoever he wanted instead of being forced to spend the day with _her_ ," Katie sniped under her breath, not quite soft enough for no one else to hear.

Fred grit his teeth and tried to rise above it. "We were talking about it the other night, and she had pretty much the same thoughts as us on the subject. Valentine's is a whole load of crap, commercialised and blown way out of proportion for the sake of boosting profits an extra day out of the year."

"How romantic," Katie sneered.

"Yeah, because showing someone every day of the year that you love them, instead of fixating on one specific day, is such a turn off," Fred snapped, unable to hold his tongue.

Katie stared at him. "I don't know why you care so much," she suddenly snapped back after a short pause. "It's not like you're really in love with her."

"Are you trying to convince him or you?" Lee said, also having had enough of Katie's childish little jabs.

Katie scowled at him. "Even if their relationship was real, it's way too soon for any sort of feelings, especially _love_ , to be real."

"Proving you've never really been in love," Fred sighed, standing up and stalking out of the hall.

George blanched as his brother left and Harry sat gaping at his empty seat. Lee had paused with a forkful of bacon halfway to his mouth, Katie looked ready to burst into tears and Alicia was the only one able to voice what they were all thinking.

"Did he just say he was in love with Hermione Granger?" she mumbled.

"Who said what now?" Ginny asked with a frown as she sat down in Fred's empty seat.

George cleared his throat and told his little sister what had happened, rolling his eyes as she snickered and shook her head.

"Trust Fred to admit to something he hasn't even figured out for himself," Ginny said. "Who wants to take bets on how long it'll be before he realises he's head over heels for the witch?"

George and Lee instinctively raised their hands as soon as the word 'bet' came out of Ginny's mouth, Ron not far behind as he weighed up the pros and cons of betting on his older brother and best friend.

.

While his friends continued to chat about the blissful ignorance he had towards his own feelings, Fred ran after his girlfriend, ascending the stairs to the owlery at a steady pace. It was getting harder and harder not to just tell the group that he and Hermione were in fact really dating. He was beginning to wonder if there was any real reason why they shouldn't just drop the charade altogether, but then he started thinking about the short amount of time he and Hermione had actually been a real couple and wasn't sure he really wanted to chance rocking the boat.

"Fred!" Hermione squealed, losing her footing as she stumbled into him on her way back down. She grabbed his shoulders just in time to steady herself, but not quite fast enough to prevent her face from colliding with his chest.

"Steady love," Fred chuckled, catching her as she fell.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked, leaning back slightly to look up at him. She smiled as he set his lips gently on hers before answering.

"Well, I came to see where you'd got to and find out what was going on today," he said. "You know I'm not particularly fussed for February fourteenth, but why do we have to spend it with Harry and his completely annoying date?"

Hermione stared up at him crossly. "Just because Cho is a little confused and upset at the moment, doesn't make her annoying!"

Fred lifted his hands up in surrender. "Mione, I thought she was annoying long before Cedric died..."

"Oh...really?" She looked rather confused which made Fred rather confused.

"Yes really," he said. "Why is that puzzling to you?"

Hermione fidgeted from one foot to the other. "Well, she's very attractive-"

Fred raised his hand and cut her off mid-sentence. "I was kind of hoping you'd noticed that not every fella in this place is completely blinded by the way a witch looks...?"

Hermione gave him a sheepish smile. "I had noticed, I just momentarily forgot." She gripped his shirt and raised herself up on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Okay, I accept your apology," Fred chuckled, an arm sliding around Hermione's waist and pulling her tightly into him.

Hermione sighed and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. She relished the feel of his lips on hers and let her tongue dance with his for a few seconds before pulling back, breathless and heady.

"It all just feels so easy with you," she murmured, a slight frown on her face as she gazed into his eyes.

Fred hummed in agreement. "I know exactly what you mean love, and I'd like nothing more than to sit and watch you over-analyse it, but we need to get back down to the entrance hall if we want to be in Hogsmeade early enough to provide the student body with a decent performance that will make it's way back to Umbridge by dinner."

Hermione smiled and nodded, stealing one last quick kiss before slipping her fingers through Fred's and pulling him back down the stairs.

"We're meeting Harry at twelve because Rita Skeeta is going to do an interview with him, and he's going to tell his side of the story," Hermione explained to Fred on the way down.

"How'd you manage to persuade her to do that?" Fred asked, a slight snicker in his voice.

"Well, I haven't, not yet. But I found out last year that she's an unregistered animagous," she said, still descending the stair case, "and that it was her transfigured state that allowed her to spy on everyone and overhear conversations she otherwise wouldn't have been privy to."

"And..." Fred nodded at her to continue. "I'm assuming blackmail is in this story somewhere?"

Hermione blushed but carried on. "I was so pissed at her for what she kept writing about me, and about Harry, and it took me forever to figure out how she was getting her information...vile bloody woman," she seethed.

Fred laughed and motioned for Hermione to get on with it.

Hermione shook her head, reaching the bottom of the stairs and coming to walk alongside Fred as they headed back to the entrance hall. "Anyway, long story short, I kept her in an enchanted jar for six weeks and told her if she ever printed another word about either of us without our express permission I'd see her thrown in Azkaban so fast even her quick quotes quill wouldn't be able to keep up."

Hermione stumbled backwards as Fred froze, looking with wide eyes at the woman. Their fingers were still locked together and Hermione was having trouble getting him to move.

"That's not a story that you cut short," he said, letting go of her hand and placing both of his either side of her face. "You are so fucking incredible..."

Fred couldn't find anymore words, so instead he slammed his lips into hers and kissed her fervently, not caring about the wolf-whistles and loud hollering that seemed to erupt all around them. He pressed Hermione into the nearest wall and took her to the brink of socially acceptable PDA, pulling back just before she'd start to moan. She looked at him with wide dazed eyes.

"What was that for...?" she murmured, her fingers coming up to touch her lips as they tingled.

"Just for being you," Fred said, smiling adoringly down at her. "So what? We're meeting Harry and Skeeta at midday in the Broomsticks so that you can 'persuade' her to write his story?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

Fred shrugged, stepping back a little so his body wasn't still pushing hers into the wall behind her. "I'm cool with that. I might get Georgie to meet me down there, maybe go to Zonko's while you sort Harry out?"

"That sounds good," Hermione said. "D'you want to go to Madame Puddifoot's before or after that?" she asked, trying to stop her face from scrunching up at the thought.

Fred failed to stop his face from doing exactly that, a small grimace making it's way across his features. "Do we have to go there?" he asked.

"Everyone is going to expect us to go to Madame Puddifoot's, it's date central in Hogsmeade. If you're on a date, you go to that tea shop," Hermione said, giving him an apologetic little shrug.

Fred groaned good-naturedly. "Well, I suppose we aren't really on a date if we don't go to the tea shop, are we?" he teased.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fred..."

He chuckled again and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "I say fuck 'em all and we'll do what we want. So long as we're seen together, who gives a shit."

"Umbridge gives a shit, that's the problem and the point," Hermione muttered, tugging Fred along to join the queue of waiting students, all eager to get past Filch and off school grounds.

Fred sighed in defeat. "I know, I'm sorry." He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry too. I hate that we have to play up something we already are but..."

"But the repercussions of the alternative aren't worth risking," he murmured into her ear.

Hermione nodded and placed her own arms along his, still around her middle.

.

"You do know we're still in school, right?" Pansy Parkinson turned around and sneered at the couple, her pug-nose stuck up in the air.

"What?!" Fred asked, jumping back in surprise and looking wildly around. "You mean this isn't outer space?!"

Hermione slapped the one arm he'd left resting on her stomach. "You should join a drama club," she muttered as she rolled her eyes.

Pansy's sneer turned into a look of disgust as Fred dug his fingers into Hermione's sides, making her squeal.

"Fred! Don't do that!" Hermione huffed.

Fred snickered, checking for Umbridge before planting a smacker on the curly-haired witch's lips.

"Don't do _that_!" Pansy gagged, the large group of Slytherin girls behind her mimicking her abject horror.

"Something wrong Parkinson?" Fred asked innocently. "Wouldn't happen to be a little jealous, would we? That Granger here managed to find a steady boyfriend, and an older one at that, before you?" He slung a casual arm around his girlfriend's shoulder, smiling serenely at the steaming Slytherin.

"Jealous?!" Pansy snapped. "Of that _thing_!" She may as well have had smoke billowing out of her nose. "I was aware you didn't have particularly high standards, but come on Weasley, none of us expected you to end up slumming it with the pigs." She nodded her head at Hermione, her nose wrinkling up.

Fred had gone quite rigid and Hermione put a hand on his shirt, willing him not to lose it.

"Take no notice, Fred," she murmured. "Parkinson's just taking her sexual frustration out on us. The last I heard, Malfoy wasn't really into dogs."

"You little bitch!" Pansy shrieked, raising her hand and swinging for Hermione.

Hermione caught her wrist mid-slap. "Careful now Parkinson, you wouldn't want to catch anything," she said softly. "I know how to fight muggle and you wouldn't want me to accidentally mix my filthy blood with yours, would you?"

Pansy stared at her with wide eyes. "You wouldn't," she whispered.

"Try me," Hermione growled.

Pansy snatched her arm from Hermione's grasp and schooled her features back into a nasty sneer. "Don't you ever try to touch me again, mudblood."

"I believe you were the one who tried to touch me," Hermione pointed out. "I'm not sure your precious Draco would look at you the same way if he ever found out that you raised your hand before your wand, you know, like a muggle..."

Pansy paled slightly. "Just shut up Granger. As if he'd ever believe something that came out of your ugly little mouth."

"Hey!" Fred barked. "Her mouth is not ugly!"

"That's what you finally want to lose your temper over?" Hermione asked him, an incredulous look on her face. "Of all the things she's said and it's that you have too much of a problem with? That you can't bite your tongue over?"

"Well, yeah," Fred huffed. "It's the only thing you wouldn't have argued her on. I figured you didn't need my help with all the rest, you were handling yourself pretty well on your own. But I know you Mione, and there was no way you were ever going to contradict what she said about your looks despite the fact that underneath all this gorgeous hair, you're the most beautiful witch in this place."

Pansy snorted loudly. "Wow, I really know what they mean when they say love is blind."

"Well, it'd have to be for you to ever stand a chance with anyone," Fred said quickly.

Pansy's whole face dropped and she hissed something inaudible at him before turning on her heel to face the front doors.

Hermione looked up at Fred. "Thank you," she said softly. "You didn't have to lay it on so thick, but thank you."

"I don't believe I laid anything on thick," Fred said with a frown. "You're a lot prettier than you think you are, love. I wouldn't lie just to make you feel better about yourself."

Hermione shrugged. "Well, maybe I just can't see what you see. It's not like it matters-"

"It matters to me," Fred murmured, looking so intently at her that she couldn't help but raise her eyes to meet his. "It matters to me," he said again.

Hermione nodded gently, almost hiding under all her hair again. Fred sighed and tucked a good chunk of it behind her ear. She smiled, pulling back from him as they reached Filch.

.

It didn't take long for them to get down to Hogsmeade. They walked the whole way hand in hand, grinning at each other every few feet and generally enjoying the walk while being able to talk without too many eavesdroppers around. By the time they got to the small village, it was mid-morning.

"Are you sure we have to go in there?" Fred asked with a grimace, standing outside the tea shop.

Hermione giggled and nodded. "Come on..." She tugged him by the hand and pulled him in behind her.

Winding their way through the tea shop they found that every table was full. Hermione groaned and rolled her eyes, peeking up at the wide grin on Fred's face.

"Three Broomsticks?" he asked hopefully.

"But no one will see us together on a date if we don't stay here," Hermione muttered, worriedly chewing her lip.

Not a second later and Fred had pulled her into a heated kiss in the middle of the tea shop, sandwiched in between two tables. He had one hand on her jaw and the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush again him. Hermione had fisted her hands into his shirt and was beginning to lose her balance, he was kissing her so well.

"Excuse me!" A shrill voice sounded throughout the shop, making the pair jump apart, completely out of breath. "What on earth do you think you're doing?!"

"Making the most of Valentine's day?" Fred said, a cheeky smirk on his face as Hermione flushed a deep red.

"Out! Out you go!" Madam Puddifoot pointed to the door. "We're completely full and I will not have you giving in to whatever hormonal urges you have, wherever you want!"

Fred snorted, the whole shop having gone silent. Hermione glared at him, giving him a quick slap on his shoulder.

"I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over us," she said, looking up at the cross woman.

"Out!" Madam Puddifoot shrieked again.

"Going," Hermione answered, turning on her heel and heading for the door.

"Happy Valentine's Day everyone!" Fred yelled as he followed Hermione out of the shop.

Ten paces down the road and Fred had finally managed to catch up to her.

"Mione-"

"That was mortifying!" she cried, coming to an abrupt stop and turning on him. "Why Fred? Why?!"

"Why what?" Fred asked, not exactly playing dumb all that well.

"You know what I'm talking about Weasley!" Hermione hissed, poking his chest with her index finger. She was momentarily distracted as her brain registered the hard muscle underneath Fred's clothing.

"You okay there Granger?" Fred chuckled.

Hermione huffed and stomped her foot. "Why would you kiss me in front of everyone like that?!"

"Because you did that thing with your lip that I keep telling you drives me crazy," Fred said bluntly.

"Fred!" Hermione whined. "You can't just kiss me every time I chew my lip! I chew it a lot!"

"I know," he said flatly.

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, surveying the village. She paused as she felt herself go to chew on her lip again, glancing across at Fred as subtly as she could before doing it anyway.

Fred growled. "You're a wicked, wicked witch," he muttered, swinging her around to face him and crashing his mouth back onto hers.

Hermione's squeak was swallowed by the man currently running his tongue across her lips. He broke the kiss to walk her quickly backwards into a deserted little alleyway not far from where they'd been standing. Before Hermione could protest, Fred's lips where back on hers and he was kissing her like he was never going to get enough of her.

Several minutes later, Fred pulled back, a dazed look in his eye, his fingers skimming Hermione's bare stomach as he slid his hand out from underneath her shirt. He kissed her again, softly this time, before resting his hands on her hips.

"Sorry..." he murmured. "It's hard not to get carried away with you..."

"It's hard not to let you," she whispered.

Fred chuckled quietly. "It's why I mostly kiss you like that in front of other people," he said.

"What?" Hermione eyes were wide as she stared at him.

"If we were in, say, the room of requirement," Fred hummed as he leaned back in and began peppering kisses up her neck and along her jaw, "I get the distinct feeling that I'd get carried away, and you'd let me. And then we'd end up doing something you might regret-"

"I don't think I'd ever regret anything I did with you," Hermione muttered frustratedly, a groan rumbling up through her throat.

Fred chuckled again, his breath hot and heavy against her skin. "You say that now-"

"I'll say it always," she sighed, her eyes fluttering shut as he licked the little dip in between her collar bone and her neck.

"Mmm, sure you will," Fred said, his teeth grazing her skin and drawing out the sweetest moan.

"You were the one who said that just because I'm a virgin, it doesn't make me a prude," Hermione mumbled as he continued his torturous ministrations, his hands having pinned her own against the wall behind them.

"And just because you're not a prude, doesn't mean you won't regret doing something in the moment," Fred said, back to kissing her neck and her face. He was doing it excruciatingly slowly too. "Doesn't mean you won't wish you hadn't given in to hormones, and lust, and _need_."

Hermione giggled, breaking the rather heated moment. Fred leaned back and raised one indignant eyebrow at her.

"Something funny?" he asked, the small twitch at the corner of his mouth a sure tell that he wasn't truly upset.

"Fred. I'm a virgin precisely because I haven't given in to hormones or lust or _need_ ," she said. "I..." Her whole face seemed to grow hot as the most beautiful blush quickly crawled it's way up her chest and across her face.

Fred took her chin between this thumb and forefinger, coaxing her to look him in the eye. "You what?" he asked, smiling gently at her.

"I've never given in to _need_ because I've never _needed_ anyone the way I seem to need you..." she said, squirming a little under his intense gaze.

Fred's jaw dropped and he stepped back a bit, completely side-swiped by what she'd said. Hermione's eyes dropped to the ground and she cleared her throat, a lump forming there and growing bigger the longer Fred stood in silence.

"The next time you feel the need for me," he said, "drag me somewhere I can _really_ get carried away."

"You'd really do that, for me?" she whispered. "You'd really be comfortable with being my first...?"

Fred ran a hand through his hair. "Are you serious? I'm still in shock you've even thought about _wanting_ me to be your first," he said. "We've only been together a few weeks-"

"But I've known you for years," Hermione said, a small smile starting to appear. "And I'm not saying I want to do it straight away, I'm just..." She chewed her lip again as she looked at him.

"Love..." Fred said, growling pointedly at her.

"Sorry," she said quickly, shaking her head. "I'm just, I'm very aware of who I am and what I tend to do when I'm nervous. And I know that for once, if I plan out the whole thing, I'm going to be so on edge I won't enjoy it."

"You _want_ to lose it in the moment," Fred said, suddenly understanding her.

Hermione nodded. "I...I trust you. And you make me feel things I've never felt before. And when you kiss me, I know I never want it to stop...I know I wouldn't regret it if it never did..."

Fred whistled. "I never thought I'd see the day when Hermione Granger told me I kiss so well-"

Hermione cut him off with a kiss of her own. Tangling her fingers in his hair, she pushed her hips against his, feeling his grip tighten. Her tongue invaded his mouth and she kissed him so thoroughly he could have sworn he'd started to see stars.

She pulled back with an air of finality, a silent smirk on her face as she took in his completely dazed appearance. He shook his head and sighed, a much smaller smirk on his own face.

"You're going to be the death of me, woman," he muttered.

"Come on, let's go to the Three Broomsticks," Hermione said. "I have a Skeeta to meet before Harry gets there."

"Ooo! Can I play too?" Fred asked, slinging an arm over her shoulder as they walked out of the alleyway and down towards the pub.

.

Hermione spotted Skeeta minutes after entering the pub. She walked over to the witch and sat down across from her, the table situated just out the way of the normal crowd. Fred went to the bar for drinks, chuckling as both women glared at each other in silence. Just as he was about to pay, he noticed Luna Lovegood also join the table, ordering her a drink too.

Hermione smiled at him as he set down a butterbeer in front of each person, sliding into a seat beside her.

"Thank you Fred," Luna said, reaching out for hers and taking a small sip.

"I thought there were two of him?" Skeeta asked, looking him up and down.

"No, there's only one of me," Fred said, a little irritated at being dismissed so quickly as an individual.

"How d'you know which twin it was?" Skeeta asked Luna, completely ignoring Fred and his tone.

"Because he's with Hermione," Luna said. "And Hermione only looks at Fred that way, she never looks at George like that."

Hermione gaped at the witch, stunned that of all people, it was Luna Lovegood who'd managed to find a way to tell the boys apart, even if she did play an intricate part in it.

"And what way is that?" Skeeta asked, leaning forward a little too quickly.

"You know," Luna said, oblivious to the reporter's eager tone. "Like she's in love with him."

Hermione choked, reaching for a napkin or a tissue or anything that she could use to clean herself up with and hide her deep red cheeks. Fred sniggered beside her.

"Oh my! Hermione Granger, actually in love!" Skeeta chirped. "Oh! Krum would be so heartbroken! He's holding a torch for you, you know. And sending him letters all the time is just cruel if you're carrying on with someone else!"

Hermione had just about recovered, her cheeks still red but her embarrassment being replaced by anger and frustration. "Krum and I are just good friends!" she hissed. "Not that it's any of your business. He already knows about Fred-"

"So you'd be more than happy for me to write an article about the two of you then?" Skeeta simpered. "If you've got nothing to hide...? Tri-wizard hussy moves on and lands herself intrepid entrepreneur, I can see the headline now."

"You know, I was about to agree but after that low blow, you can get fucked," Hermione growled.

Skeeta's lip curled. "Sweetheart, who'd ever want to read an article about you? The gold-digging, fame-seeking harlet of last years news?"

"Hey!" Fred snapped.

Hermione laid a hand on his arm and looked sweetly up at him. "Maybe you should go find George, she's not going to get any better and I need her to stay 'til Harry gets here. She won't do that if you've hexed her."

Fred looked from his girlfriend to the grown woman across the table and back again. "Fine," he sighed, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss. "I'll mooch around with Georgie and then we'll come back here."

"Sounds perfect, see you then," Hermione said, grinning at him as he jumped up and headed for the door. It wasn't long before she spotted Harry and the interview was well underway.

.

As Skeeta was starting to wind down, having got as much information out of Harry as was possible, Hermione spotted the twins walking in with Katie and Lee. She frowned, trying to work out why Katie wasn't on the pitch with the rest of the team. Her blood began boiling when she saw the girl shoot in between Fred and George at the little booth they'd managed to acquire. Lee rolled his eyes and came to sit the other side of them.

Hermione couldn't keep her attention on Harry or the interview. All she could see was Katie, sat flush next to Fred, giggling and laughing and touching him as much as possible. Her hand was on his arm, on his shoulder, swiping playfully against his chest...it was like she couldn't keep them off him. As soon as Skeeta was done, Hermione had jumped up, shaken her hand (much to the woman's surprise) and bounced on over to Fred's table.

"Hey!" she smiled, waving at everyone a little too enthusiastically.

"Mione!" George grinned, throwing his arms out wide and wrapping her in a tight hug.

Hermione squeaked and looked above George's head at Fred.

"He's missing Angelina," Fred informed her.

"Right," Hermione nodded, trying to wriggle out of George's grip and failing. Instead, she ended up with his head resting on her stomach and his arms looped around her waist. "George..."

"Mione..."

She huffed and rolled her eyes, giving him a friendly pat on the back and attempting to sooth whatever dramatisation he was currently enacting.

"I'd just humour him, love," Fred said nonchalantly.

"Humour him?" Hermione said, scrunching her face up. "I wasn't aware you were the sharing type..."

Fred growled. "Not like that," he said, glaring at the back of George's head as it began to shake. Hermione could feel his hot breath on her tummy and giggled, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders.

"George..." Hermione tried again, rubbing his back. "Any chance you want to let me go?"

George shook his head.

"George, get off her!" Fred huffed, clearly irritated now.

George shook his head.

Hermione snorted, shrugging at Fred. She started smoothing a hand down his back as though soothing a child, looking across at Lee for some help.

Lee held his hands up in surrender. "Don't look at me. The last time I tried to take a treat away from him, he hexed me so hard I couldn't speak for a week."

"I am _not_ a treat!" Hermione cried indignantly, slapping George's back as he started laughing again.

Katie had spent the entire time since Hermione had arrived, silently sipping her drink and refusing to look at the witch.

"George, could you please let go of my girlfriend before I hex you so hard you won't speak for a week," Fred said, twisting in his seat and desperately trying to find a way out of the booth.

George groaned, nuzzling Hermione briefly before lifting his head and smiling sadly up at her. "Thanks, for making it feel like I'm not completely alone on Valentine's," he sighed.

Hermione stepped back, finally free, and shook her head. "Like you care about Valentine's. The only thing running through that brain of yours about Valentine's day, is what sort of stuff you can invent and then flog for money."

George gapped at her. "Bloody hell Mione, I do believe you've just put an idea in my head."

Hermione looked aghast as she sat down opposite him. "No! No, no, no! You mean you'd never thought about it before?!"

George shook his head, an evil glint in his eye. "I think I owe you a drink, Granger."

Hermione groaned and dropped her head on the table, still shaking it back and forth. Lee sniggered and rubbed the back of her head.

"Come now Granger, it was bound to happen sometime or another," he said.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed, looking at Fred.

Fred was still bunched up in the corner beside Katie, who hadn't put any space between them since George had up and left for the bar. He was looking very uncomfortable and Lee sniggered again. Fred kicked his shin.

As Harry approached the table, Lee was jumping about in his seat, glaring at Fred. George looked in confusion around the table, setting the tray of butterbeer down and trying to work out what had gone on.

.

"How'd the interview go?" Fred asked, looking at Harry and Hermione as the black haired boy slipped into the seat next to the curly-haired bookworm; the one seat Fred wanted to be sat in.

"You were doing an interview?" Katie asked, looking up at Harry with interest.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. He wasn't too pleased with how the woman had been treating his best friend, and he wasn't really in the mood for small talk.

"Who with?" Katie said.

"Skeeta," Harry answered, looking down at his glass of butterbeer.

"He decided to tell his side of the story," Hermione explained, trying not to take over but seeing that Harry was going to start being rude if no one else was forthcoming. "About Cedric and Vold-you-know-who." She caught herself just as she saw Katie start to shiver.

"That's really brave Harry," Katie said, trying to catch his eye. "It must have been really hard for you to do that."

Harry shrugged and then nodded a little bit. "I couldn't have done it without Hermione," he said, looking pointedly up at Katie.

"I'm sure you could have done," Katie said, trying to keep her voice even. "You're probably one of the bravest people I know..."

Harry shook his head and scoffed. "I get thrown into ridiculously dangerous situations, usually because of some deranged psychopath, and have to make the most out of it-"

"Harry! What you've been through and who you are...it's so much more than that!" Hermione chastised him.

"Never would have got the Philosopher's stone without you," he said.

"Harry-"

"Never would have made it into the Chamber of Secrets without getting killed if it weren't for you."

"Harry-"

"Probably would have fucked up time and space if it weren't for you. Padfoot and Buckbeak would most certainly be dead if it weren't for you..."

"Harry! Shut up!" she growled, seeing both the twins, Lee and Katie all looking at her like she'd grown a second head.

Harry shrugged. "Just saying..."

"Well stop saying," she snapped. "Just drink your butterbeer and be quiet."

"Oh! So _you're_ allowed to lay into me when I say something you don't agree with, but _I'm_ supposed to keep my mouth shut when it's you?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Yes, that's exactly what you're supposed to do," she huffed.

Harry stuck his tongue out at her and she snorted, rolling her eyes and looking back down at her butterbeer, a small smile on her face.

"So, just out of curiosity," Katie said, looking from Harry to Hermione and back again, "what exactly _was_ going on between you two last year?"

Harry spluttered and Hermione glared at the girl.

"Nothing!" Harry cried, his tone more indignant than Hermione's, who'd gone for more of an angry growl.

"Well, it's just, I just wondered, you know? What with all the stuff Skeeta printed in the Prophet about you both, and now you're both here meeting up with her to do another interview," Katie said, trying to maintain an air of innocence. "I was curious about how comfortable Fred would be if something had happened, and you were still so close..."

Fred's jaw clenched and George rolled his eyes.

"I don't see how he could be uncomfortable," Hermione said, keeping her tone as even as possible despite wanting to stick pins in the chaser's eyes. "Something happened between you and Fred, and I'm not uncomfortable with how close you still are."

"Are you sure about that?" Katie said softly. "Because you sure seemed to have a problem when you were over in the corner with your best buds Harry and Skeeta, and I was over here with Fred..."

Hermione's nostrils flared. "I don't have a problem with you and Fred, I never have done and I never will do. I have a problem with your complete lack of respect for me as his girlfriend-"

"How am I supposed to respect you as his girlfriend when-" Katie cut herself off, remembering where they were. She grit her teeth and looked stubbornly at Hermione.

"Is that what this is about?" Hermione asked incredulously. "That it's all pretend?" she whispered.

"It's so fucking obvious and yet neither of you have the decency to actually say anything," she seethed. "We're supposed to be friends. He's supposed to be _my_ friend and you've twisted him all up so he won't even tell me the truth-"

"That's not true," Fred said, tearing Katie's gaze away from Hermione. "If we've been untruthful, it wasn't her that made me lie to you Katie, it was me. I know how messed up this all is, and I'm sorry so many of you got caught in the middle but...for us to say it's all real...what if it doesn't work and then we all end up still having to pretend that we're together but everyone knows we're not but we tried-"

"Fred, has it ever occured to you that we'll already fucking know because we're not fucking idiots!" Katie snapped defeatedly. "Can you please just be honest with me!"

Fred looked at Hermione and she shrugged.

"She makes a valid point," Hermione mumbled. "I never thought about the fact that we'd be making our friends feel like they were stupid..."

Fred groaned and hung his head in his hands. "Katie I'm so sorry..."

"So it's real then," she said, a pained look stealing across her face. " _You're_ real."

Hermione nodded.

She sighed, raising her eyes to the sky and blinking back a tear or two. "I think I'm going to go..."

"Katie-"

"Don't George, please," she said, shaking her head. "I just need some time."

Fred nodded, feeling absolutely terrible. Hermione didn't feel much better.

"Could have told you," Harry muttered.

Hermione scowled at him.

"To be fair, Katie didn't hear your original explanation as to why you wanted to keep it a poorly hidden secret," Lee said, looking up at Fred with a shrug. "She heard whatever Alicia told her."

"How do _you_ feel?" Hermione asked Lee, peering at him through her lashes.

"Well, I'm sort of used to being the last to know," he said, giving her a small smile. "These two tell each other everything, and you're the first witch to be completely cool with it so...I know George would have been told. Based on Harry's reaction, you obviously confided in him...I'm used to reading between the lines..."

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"Don't apologise," Lee said, shaking his head. "For once, you were thinking about what was best for you. You don't owe anyone an apology for that."

"Wow, deep Jordon, I didn't know you had it in you," George sniggered.

"Sure you didn't," Lee scoffed, throwing a balled up napkin at his mate. "I suppose that's why you want my advice when it comes to Angelina at every whip and flip...?"

Fred snorted, looking from one man to the other. "Georgie?"

George glared at Lee before throwing the napkin back at him.

"Just give Katie time, she'll come around," Lee said. "At least now she can move on and get over Fred."

Hermione nodded, peeking up at Fred as she sipped on her butterbeer.

"I'd tell Ronnikins and Alicia fast though," George said. "She's not above doing it for you."

.

Hermione managed to find Ron fast enough to explain to him the state of her relationship with Fred, both relieved and annoyed that Ron had figured it out already and also didn't care. Ginny was in much the same mindset as Ron, and Hermione was beginning to wonder if it was a family trait. Fred wasn't so lucky with Alicia, who was giving them both the cold shoulder as though to show solidarity towards Katie. Angelina just shrugged and rolled her eyes at the girls, telling Fred and Hermione that they'd get over it eventually.

It was Monday night and Hermione was sat at a table in the Gryffindor common room with Harry, trying to catch up on some homework. She'd spent a good portion of dinner explaining to Harry the inner workings of the female mind and now she was determined to get some study done. She'd started to find that while she was still ahead in her schoolwork, she was not as ahead as she'd liked to have been, and she put this down to Fred's exceptional skills in persuasion.

She sighed when Fred and George turned up at their table, each taking seats either side of her. Fred leant forwards and dropped a kiss on her cheek, peering strangely at the stack of Ancient Runes books that she had piled up in front of her.

"Where's Ron and Gin?" George asked, looking around for his siblings.

"Not here," Harry grumbled, getting more and more frustrated with his star chart.

"Good," Fred said. "We were watching their practice." He grimaced. "They're complete shit without us, they're gonna be slaughtered on Saturday."

"Ginny's not that bad," George said, frowning the more he contemplated that. "Actually...how'd she get so good? It's not like we ever let her play with us...?"

"She's been breaking into your broom shed in the garden since the age of six and taking each of your brooms out in turn when you weren't looking," Hermione said without looking up.

Both the twins and Harry looked mildly impressed.

"Well, that'll explain it," George mumbled.

Hermione looked up, her eyes flicking between both red-headed boys. "Has Ron saved a goal yet?" she asked, a slight wince in her voice.

"Well, he can do it if he thinks no one's watching," Fred said, rolling his eyes. "So short of asking the entire crowd to turn around every time the quaffle goes anywhere near him, he's fucked."

Hermione groaned.

Fred stood up and wondered over to the window, looking out at the grounds currently consumed by darkness. "Quidditch was about the only thing in this place worth staying for," he grumbled.

"Thanks," Hermione muttered, focusing back on her work.

Fred snorted and came to sit back beside her, smiling as he played with her hair. "Well, I figured I wasn't going to lose you when I left school," he said.

Hermione's lips twitched into a reluctant smile, betraying her. She looked up at Fred and shook her head with a playful roll of her eyes. "Nice save."

He grinned happily, like he'd just secured a victory he hadn't realised he was after.

"Besides," Hermione said, looking sternly at him now, "you've got exams coming. That's reason enough to stay."

Fred groaned and looked imploringly at her. "Told you already, we're not fussed about NEWTs. And the snackboxes are all ready to roll..."

Hermione looked at him, a small frown on her face. She resisted the urge to chew on her lip as she thought, because Fred would make her forget what she was thinking, and she was thinking that there was something he wasn't telling her.

"I dunno if I even want to watch this match," George huffed, looking out the window himself. "If that little shit Zacharias Smith beats us, I might just have to kill myself."

"Kill him, more like," Fred said with a growl.

"See, that's the problem with quidditch. It just creates so much tension and bad feeling between houses." Hermione felt the table grow quiet and looked up to see Fred, George and Harry all looking at her with expressions of mingled disgust and increduality.

"I thought she was perfect, Forge," George muttered. "I thought she was the perfect witch for my wonderful twin and then she just went and said that."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm not wrong," she said impatiently. "It's only a game, isn't it?"

"Ahhh!" George covered his ears dramatically. "Stop! For the love of all things magic, please stop! You're making it worse!"

"Hermione," Harry said, shaking his head, "you're good with feelings and stuff, but you just don't get it when it comes to quidditch."

Hermione scoffed. "Maybe not," she said darkly, "but at least my happiness doesn't depend on Ron's goalkeeping ability."

Fred sniggered. "I hate to admit it, but she has a point," he mumbled as George glared at him.

By the end of the match on Saturday, Harry wasn't the only one who wished he didn't care as much about quidditch. It was a miracle they only lost by ten points, and that was down to Ginny's fairly decent seeker skills despite her preference for goal-scoring.

.

Monday after the match from hell and Harry was inundated with owls. Hermione dived into the hooting mess and extracted a screech owl. A long, cylindrical tube was attached to the bird and she passed it to Harry. "Open this one first, then all this should make sense."

She watched as Harry ripped it open and unfurled a copy of the Quibbler, a picture of his own face grinning sheepishly up at him. She had to admit, she probably would have winced too if it was her own face she was staring at.

"It's good isn't it," Luna said, coming to sit with them. She managed to squeeze herself in between Fred and Ron. "It came out yesterday and I asked Dad to send you a free copy. I expect all these," she waved her hand at the mess of owls all hopping about in the middle of the table, "are letters from readers."

"I figured as much," Hermione said, beaming at the sea of feathers. "Harry, d'you mind if we...?" She tipped her head towards the birds and Harry nodded.

"Sure, go ahead," he said. "Help yourself." He looked a little bemused by the whole thing and Hermione nudged him gently before starting to tear into the envelopes.

"This one's from a bloke who thinks you're off your rocker," Ron said, scrunching up the letter he had and shrugging. "Ah well..."

"This woman recommends you try a good course of Shock Spells at St Mungo's," Hermione said, her shoulders dropping slightly as she screwed up her letter too.

Harry had started to join in now, reading through a longer letter. "This one looks okay. She says she believes me!" He smiled and looked at Hermione, nudging her back gently.

"This one's in two minds," Fred said, having assumed Harry's invitation to 'help yourself' included anyone within reaching distance of a letter. "Says you don't come across as a mad person, but he really doesn't want to believe you-know-who's back so he doesn't know what to think now. What a waste of fucking parchment." He rolled his eyes and tossed it back onto the table.

Hermione squealed as she scanned another letter, tapping Harry animatedly on the shoulder. "Here's another one you've convinced Harry! She says _having read your side of the story, I am forced to the conclusion that the Daily Prophet has treated you very unfairly...little though I want to think that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned, I am forced to accept that you are telling the truth..._ Oh my god! This is amazing Harry!"

"Another tosser who thinks you're crazy," Ron said, tearing up another letter and grabbing a new one. "This one says you've got her converted though, and now she thinks you're a real hero!" He snorted and flipped over what looked like blank piece of card. "Oh! She's put in a photograph too! Wow!"

While Ron was oggling the picture that had been included in the letter, he'd failed to see Professor Umbridge sneak up behind them all.

"What is going on here?!" she asked, her voice taking on that fake, innocent, too sweet tone that she often used when she was upset.

Hermione and Harry looked up from the stack of envelopes and letters that had filled the table. They could see the eyes of the Great Hall seemingly trained on them.

"Why have you got all these letters, Mr Potter?" she said, her fat little toad eyes glaring at him.

"Is that a crime now?" Fred asked loudly. "Getting mail?"

"Careful now Mr Weasley, wouldn't want to have to give you another detention, would we?" she said softly, her gaze flicking briefly towards Fred before looking back at Harry. "Well, Mr Potter?"

"I did an interview about what happened last June," Harry said after a short pause. "The letters are from people who read the article I was in."

"An interview?" Umbridge said, almost having to force the words out one at a time. "What do you mean?"

"I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them," Harry said. "Here..." He threw a copy of the Quibbler at her and she caught it.

Hermione held her breath as the face of the pink toad seemed to strain under the pressure of remaining calm and collected, turning a violent shade of purple with the effort.

"When did you do this?" she asked, her voice trembling and hushed with fury.

"Last Hogsmeade weekend," Harry said.

The Quibbler shook in her hands and Hermione wanted to close her eyes as the woman's gaze fell upon her. "I suspect you had something to do with this, Miss Granger?"

"She had nothing to do with it!" Harry barked.

"There will be no more Hogsmeade visits for you, Mr Potter," she whispered furiously. "How you could...how you..." She took a deep breath and let it out, calming herself. "I have tried time and time again to teach you not to tell lies and yet the message has apparently still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detentions."

Hermione's breath caught in her throat as Umbridge turned once again to her. "Another fifty points from Gryffindor for encouraging such despicable behaviour, and you can join Mr Potter for the week too, Miss Granger," Umbridge spat.

Hermione nodded, not trusting herself to say or do anything else.

Fred had other ideas. "Hey! That's-OW!" He glared at Harry as he bent down to rub his shin.

"That's what Mr Weasley?" Umbridge hissed, staring down at him.

"Nothing Professor," he said through gritted teeth. "Nothing at all..."

"Good. I should think so too," she said, clutching the magazine to her chest and stalking off.

As Umbridge left, Fred kicked Harry in the shin as payback.

"Why the fuck did you shut me up?!" Fred snapped.

"Because you'd have ended up in detention too!" Harry snapped back, rubbing his shin just like Fred had done.

"And?!"

"And, I think Hermione has suffered enough, don't you?" Harry asked pointedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" George said, now glaring at Harry as Fred's face fell flat and his skin turned a pale shade of grey.

"It means, that should Umbridge have managed to snap Fred up into our detention, she'd have taken it upon herself to deepen the scar Hermione got the last time they were in detention together," Harry said, trying to keep his voice calm and quiet. "If Fred isn't there, Umbridge won't subject her to anything too bad since she's not going to want to change the scar she's already got. In her mind, it's already too perfect."

George's glare slipped off his face and he sighed, nodding at Harry as he understood what he was saying. With Fred in the room, they'd be forced to do the same thing that happened last time, and there was no way in hell Fred would comply. George hated to admit it, but he was sure that should Fred refuse to hurt Hermione even more, a punishment far worse would take it's place and he didn't even want to imagine what sort of things Umbridge could dream up in that instance.

"It's better this way," Hermione mumbled quietly. "Harry did the right thing."

Fred stood up and left without saying anything.

Hermione sighed and shook her head, trying to blink back tears. George gave her a sympathetic look from across the table.

"Just give him a minute," he said.

Hermione nodded. "I don't want him getting more caught up in this than he already is. Umbridge is out to get me, and for now, Fred just happens to be potential collateral damage. I'd hate for him to end up another primary targer," she said softly.

"Mione..." George gave her a small smile. "The way he feels about you..." He let out a little huff turned chuckle. "I think he'd rather be a primary target and in it with you, than feel helpless and relegated to the sidelines."

"That's not what I meant," Hermione sniffed. "I just-"

"You don't want him to go through the same thing again," George said. "I get it. And so does he. I think he's just struggling with the idea that it's okay for him to watch you go through the same thing again."

Hermione cleared her throat and stood up. "I think...I think I'm gonna go find him," she said quietly.

Hermione rushed through the entrance hall, her head down as she strode across the grounds to the lake. She'd managed to stomp halfway round it when she found him.

"Bloody hell, your legs are fucking long," she muttered, stepping into pace beside him.

Fred said nothing, he merely continued on, pounding the path in front of him.

"I didn't mean to upset you," she said softly. "I just...I understood why Harry did what he did. And I do think it's for the best that we aren't in another detention together..."

"How am I supposed to protect you when you won't even let me stand up for you?" Fred asked, his irritation evident in his tone.

"You're _not_ supposed to protect me," Hermione said, a slither of rage in her voice. "At least not the way you're suggesting."

Fred whirled around on the spot and came to stand right in front of her. "Then what _am_ I supposed to do?! I am your boyfriend, am I not? So explain to me how I'm not supposed to protect you?!"

Hermione glared at him. "Okay, yes! You _are_ supposed to protect me. But you're supposed to protect me from getting my heart broken, you're supposed to protect my spirit from breaking and my soul from dying. You are not supposed to decide how much I can take or who I can take it from. You're not supposed to fight my battles for me, or step in when you think I'm going to get hurt," she cried. Her chest rose and fell more rapidly the longer she spoke, her anger and frustration fueling her mouth and her mind.

"Hermione-"

"No." She cut him off quickly. "I'm not that sort of person Fred. You don't get to come out here and sulk because you couldn't protect me. I can protect myself."

"I know," Fred said, raising his hands and sighing. "I know..."

"There's a war coming Fred. It's inevitable. And if you expect me not to fight..." Hermione shook her head, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Fred's shoulders fell and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Fuck." His hands raked through his hair and he turned on the spot a few time. "Fuck, fuck, fuckity FUCK!" he roared.

Hermione raised her eyes heavenward and took in a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. "Fred, how is it fair that you get to chase your dreams and follow your heart but I'm not allowed to follow mine?" she murmured.

"What?" Fred frowned at her, his hands going limp at his sides.

"I know something's going on with you and George," Hermione said. "I know your planning something or waiting for something. I know _something_ is about to happen. My point is, I haven't said anything. I haven't tried to stop you, I haven't tried to get in the way-"

"Your dream is to fight in a war?" Fred raised an unconvinced eyebrow which just seemed to piss Hermione off even more.

"My dream is to live in a world where I belong," she said firmly. "My dream is to wake up in the morning and not have to worry about how many people are looking down their noses at me or believe I stole someone else's magic. To not have to live in fear that should opinion sway too much one way, I might have to be afraid for my life. And my heart tells me that I cannot sit back and expect someone else to make the changes _I_ want to see."

Fred looked forlornly at her, his heart aching as he took in the sight of her. He didn't think he'd ever respected her more. "I'm never not going to want you safe Mione," he whispered. "I'm never not going to want you behind me instead of in front...but I do know the kind of person you are. And I know you were never meant to be a spectator." He cleared his throat again. "I'll never like the positions you put yourself in, but I'd never ask you to stop. I'd never expect you to stop. And I'd never expect you not to fight, even if it meant...even if it meant losing you..."

Hermione let go of the breath she was holding and rushed towards Fred. He wrapped her up in his arms and let out a sigh of relief. His nose nuzzled into her neck, the scent of her making every muscle in his body relax. His arms were wound around her waist and he squeezed her gently.

"I'm sorry Fred," she mumbled. "I'm sorry I can't not fight..."

Fred gave a watery little chuckle and groaned. "Love, if could, you wouldn't be you."

Hermione laughed a little and sniffed, her head buried into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry too," Fred said. "I'm sorry I made you think that I expected you to change for me." He took a deep breath, inhaling more of her calming scent. "I suppose it took a minute for my protective heart to catch up to what my head already knew..."

"Which is?"

Fred pulled back so he could look her dead in the eyes. "Hermione Granger can do the impossible, and I want to see her try."

Hermione surged forward without thinking and crashed her lips into Fred's. Her hands were raking through his hair in seconds, and she could hardly get enough of him. She pushed her body into his and it wasn't long before Fred had an arm wrapped around her body and a hand running up her skirt. Before he could get very far, or Hermione had to think twice about letting him, they were interrupted by the sound of a high-pitched, fake cough.

The two of them leapt apart as fast as they could, icicles creeping up their spines and settling into their very bones before they could register where the noise had come from.

Ginny Weasley was practically rolling on the floor laughing, her face bright red.

Fred huffed and put his hands on his hips, glaring at his little sister. "Bloody hell Gin, you scared the shit out of me! What the fuck did you do that for?!"

Ginny took a minute to try and get her laughter under-control, and then amid the odd snigger she managed to answer his question. "Well, I needed to get your attention and it was the fastest and crueliest way I could think of," she said. "Not to mention you were getting a bit frisky considering you're both in a public place with little to no cover and lessons are about to start in, what, ten minutes ago?"

Hermione's brilliant red blush at having been chastised by the girl nearly two years her junior, suddenly disappeared. "Ten minutes _ago_?!" she cried. "As in, I'm ten minutes late?!"

"I believe that's what I just said, yes." Ginny nodded and Fred snorted.

Hermione smacked Fred in the chest and glared. "It's not fucking funny Fred," she hissed. "Professor Mcgonagall is going to be so upset with me!"

"Yeah, she might even tut at you once or twice," he drawled sarcastically. "Please, that woman loves you. There's no way she'll punish you, especially if you tell her it was my fault." He shrugged and watched Hermione start chewing on her lip. "Or we could skip class altogether and just go shag somewhere?"

"Eww!" Ginny cringed. "Little sister! Still stood within earshot!"

Hermione had gone beet-red again.

"Then move out of earshot!" Fred cried, waving her away. "Thanks for the save, but nobody asked you to stay..."

"Merlin, you're so fucking grateful Fred," Ginny grumbled as she turned to walk away.

 _"I'm_ grateful," Hermione called after her. She sighed when Ginny just waved, but saw the redhead smile softly as she looked briefly back at them.

"So, what's it going to be?" Fred asked, looping his arms back around Hermione's waist and pulling the witch back into him. Her hands came to rest on his forearms as she leant back to look at him.

"Class...?" she said, an apologetic grimace on her face.

"How about I walk you, and if I manage to persuade you to detour into an empty classroom or broom cupboard, so be it...?" Fred suggested.

"I think I can agree to those terms," Hermione grinned, "but I am immensely stubborn Mr Weasley."

"And I am expertly skilled in the art of distraction, Miss Granger, so we shall see," he said, holding his arm out like a proper gentleman for her to take.

She chuckled and slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. Not ten steps later and she'd already slid her hand down into his, their fingers intertwined as they walked back to school.


	7. Chapter 7

**So, it's been more than a while. I'm not going to say much to be honest, other than sorry and thanks for being so patient. Anyway, I've actually finished this fic, there's four more chapters including this one, and that'll be it for this part. I will eventually be writing more story for these characters, covering book 6 and 7 and beyond, but I'm not sure when that will be.**

 **There will be passages from here on out where I've taken the original work from JKR and either copied it a bit or changed it slightly, but we all know that I did not write Harry Potter and this is my way of saying that I am under no illusions that anything that looks or sounds even vaguely familiar is mine, because it's definifely all hers.**

 **There's also some fairly graphic sexual scenes too. I hadn't planned on it but that's just the way the story seemed to go. Please forgive me if this a) offends you, or b) isn't written to the standards you're used to!**

 **Anyway, so much for not writing loads, I'll post a chapter every day or two until it's complete, but I won't be putting an intro at the beginning of the chapters after this. Thanks again for your patience and I hope you enjoy...**

It was the DA session everyone was waiting for. The Patronus spell. Hermione shifted slightly and looked around uncomfortably, her skin prickling with the knowledge that a hundred eyes were on her. She glared at Fred who winked as his silvery seal swam around the room, diving on unsuspecting pupils without much thought or care.

She was so proud that he'd managed to cast such a corporeal patronus but so pissed that he'd done it _after_ her. Not because she wanted to be the best, but because she didn't want everyone watching her to see if her patronus would look like Fred's. Which is exactly what they were all doing.

On the one hand, there was a part of her that really wanted a seal to burst forth from her wand. The idea that she'd know once and for all whether they were truly a good match would have been almost a blessing if she wasn't sure it was also a curse.

Hermione had done a lot of research on patronuses. She knew that your patronus was the embodiment of the light within your soul, and so it made absolute sense to her that a soulmate's patronus would perfectly complement that of it's partner. But she also knew that nearly everyone else saw patronuses like soulmate symbols, which they were not. And she was well aware that those around her were not going to care about what she knew, they were only going to care about whether her patronus matched Fred's.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and smiled as she thought of a happy memory. She found herself picking one that involved Fred, a random moment when he'd made her laugh and forget all her troubles. As she waved her wand and breathed the words that brought the spell to life she realised that she was just as on edge as the rest of the DA. She heard a collective gasp and scrunched her face up before chancing a peek. There, floating in front of her and twirling around in delight, was the most beautiful otter she thought she'd ever seen. She beamed at it and giggled, watching as it started to swim around her.

"So you and Fred aren't soulmates?" Zacharias Smith asked, looking from one to the other with a nasty little smirk. "Does that mean you're going to break up?"

Fred smacked him upside the head and rolled his eyes. "No you little twerp, it doesn't."

"But your patronuses basically say there's someone better out there for you," Alicia pointed out.

"Actually, if anyone had done more than a page worth of research, they'd know that patronuses don't always stay the same," Fred said. "Most people who are a good match for each other, or who are 'destined' to be together, as you all seem to think, change and grow with their partner. So their patronuses change too, sometimes to match. It's just, most people don't bother to learn such a complex charm until they're a lot older, so there's less time or reason for them to change much."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Lavender Brown mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief. "If I were you Hermione, I'd cut your losses now and go on the hunt for a person who casts an otter just like you."

"Well I'm not you Lavender," Hermione said, refraining from a growl. "And Fred is actually perfectly right. I'm not breaking up with him because our patronuses aren't a pair."

"Well, that and Umbridge would have you expelled if you did," Katie said snidely. "Let's not pretend that it's just because of the way you feel."

Hermione rolled her eyes and refused to rise to the bait.

"I'd say they match up pretty well to be honest," Lee said, nodding at both Fred and Hermione's patronuses as they danced around playfully with each other.

Hermione grinned and nodded gratefully at him. "Well, they are both sea creatures, so they do have quite a bit in common."

"I don't believe in soulmates anyway," Lee shrugged. "I just want to find someone I can stand to be silent with."

"Stand to be silent with?" Angelina asked, frowning at him as though he'd gone a bit barmy.

"Well, yeah," Lee said. "Think about it. It doesn't take much to talk with someone or make out with them, but there's a lot to be said for that awkward silence that just won't go away. In my opinion, if you can be comfortable in silence with someone, you're comfortable enough to be you around them."

"Where do keep getting all this stuff from?" George asked, perplexed. "I mean, it's golden mate, but seriously? You choose to hang around us pair all day..."

Lee grinned and shook his head. "Mama didn't raise no fool."

Hermione laughed and nodded her head. "Damn right she didn't."

Lee winked at her and she chuckled, smiling back at him. "Any time you decide you chose the wrong prankster, you just let me know Granger."

Fred glared at him. "Fuck off you great prat." He put his whole hand over Lee's face and pushed him away, smirking as Lee laughed and stumbled backwards.

Hermione's attention was caught by some commotion going on not far from her. She looked at Harry with a frown, seeing Dobby tugging at his robes. Her frown deepened as a worried look stole across Harry's face, peering down at the house elf in concern.

Hermione moved closer to them, picking up on the last part of Dobby's sentence.

"...but the house elves have been warned not to tell..."

Hermione covered her mouth as Dobby ran straight into a wall, head first. He bounced off the stone, his eight hats serving as a cushion.

"What's happened Dobby?" Harry asked, holding Dobby's arm to prevent him from attempting further self-harm.

"Harry Potter...she...she..." Dobby hit himself hard with his free hand and Harry grabbed that one too.

"Who's 'she' Dobby?" Harry asked, although Hermione could tell by the way he was looking at the elf, he already knew.

Dobby looked up at Harry, mouthing something wordlessly and going slightly cross-eyed.

"Umbridge?" Harry asked, horrified.

Dobby nodded and tried to bang his head on Harry's knees. Harry held him at arms length.

"What about her? Dobby - she hasn't found out about this - about us - about the DA?" Harry could see Dobby's answer all across his face. The elf fell to the floor after trying to kick himself, his arms still held fast by Harry. "Is she coming?" Harry asked quietly.

Dobby howled. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!" He began beating his bare feet hard on the floor.

Hermione face dropped as she watched Harry stand and look around at the rest of the motionless room.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" he bellowed. "RUN!"

As if they'd all been shaken out of their stupor at the same time, the entire room started to run for the door. Hermione felt Fred grab her hand, pulling her with him. She screamed at Harry to move, watching him from the middle of the crowd before losing sight of him. He was crouching down to talk to Dobby as Hermione was part-shoved and part-yanked through the door.

.

Fred raced down the corridor, Hermione's hand still clamped in his own as he turned this way and that. He finally bundled her into a secret passageway, spinning her round so her back was pressed against the cold stone wall, his hand gently covering her mouth as he leant into her slightly. Her chest was heaving, while his breath had frozen, and her eyes were wide and frightened, staring straight at him. Fred kept his eyes on her, straining his ears for any noise he could make out around them. When he was sure no one was too close and they weren't going to get caught, he relaxed slightly, letting out the breath he'd been holding and easing his hand off Hermione's mouth.

"Fred-" She croaked, her eyes pooled with tears.

"I know," he murmured. "I know."

Hermione shook, her whole body was trembling and Fred pulled her softly into a warm hug. He wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head as she rested it on his collar bone, sniffling and fisting her hands in the back of his shirt.

Hermione pulled back a few seconds later, wiping her eyes and stifling her sobs. She took a deep breath and did her best to calm herself.

"We have to go back and make sure everyone got out okay," she said, looking up at Fred.

Fred raised one long eyebrow and looked at her like she'd gone mad. "What?"

"We've got to go and help everyone," she said again, frowning at him. "I need to make sure Harry got out okay, and Ron and Ginny and -"

"Hermione, love, there's nothing you can do," Fred said, rubbing the tops of her shoulders and looking softly into her eyes. "Getting yourself caught is not going to help anyone."

Hermione shook herself out of Fred's embrace as her frown deepened. "But I can't just sit here and do nothing," she hissed.

"Well tough," Fred said, folding his arms and meeting her defiant gaze with one of his own. "Because that's exactly what you're going to do."

Hermione looked indignantly at him. "The hell I am!" she whisper-barked. "Who do you think you are?! You can't tell me what to do?!"

"If going after our fallen commrades was a smart and logical decision to make, I'd be right behind you," Fred said. "But it's not. It's probably one of the most stupid things I think I've ever heard you say."

"I'm not stupid!"

"I know that. I didn't say you were," Fred growled. "But going back out there with the express purpose of trying to find everyone is stupid. It might as well be a suicide mission."

"But Harry-"

"Harry is not the person Umbridge despises the most in this school. Harry, while loathed almost as much as you, is not the one she's looking to expel for the smallest of possible reasons."

"But Fred-"

"Harry has Dumbledore, and he's not going to sit by and let Umbridge hurt him or expel him," Fred said, taking hold of Hermione's wrists and bringing her hands up to his chest. "And he'd also be the first to kill me should he learn that I didn't do everything in my power to stop you from making such an inane mistake."

Hermione's lip wobbled as she looked up Fred. "I can't just do nothing."

"You're not, you're very much doing something," he said, tracing small circles with his thumb on the inside of her wrists.

"What? What am I doing Fred? Because it doesn't feel like _anything_!" she huffed.

"Well, besides driving me mad, infuriating the hell out of me and having a pointless argument...you're protecting the people you love by protecting yourself." He could see she wasn't buying it, in all her stubborn glory.

"How is protecting me protecting them? That's just a really selfish way of excusing the fact that I've hidden away like some kind of coward," she snapped, pulling her hands away from him.

Fred rolled his eyes and growled. "Yeah, if this was a bloody battle and we were in the middle of a war zone, maybe. But we're not. We're in school and there's a tyrant pink toad on the loose, and all-guns-blazing is not the way to win against someone like her."

"And exactly how do you win against someone like her?" Hermione asked, her hands on her hips and her lips trembling again.

"You fight. You fight hard and you fight fast and you fight with everything you have until there's no air left in your lungs and no blood left in your veins...but you fight with this," he said, gently prodding Hermione's forehead with his finger. "Love, you have been blessed with remarkable intelligence. Use it."

"I'm trying..." Hermione whispered. "I just...I hate feeling so helpless and out of control..."

Fred sighed and slipped his fingers through hers. "Just think of it as being one step ahead. Your not helpless Hermione, of all the words in the world that I would use to describe you, helpless isn't one of them."

"But I don't feel like I'm doing anything," she argued softly. "I don't feel like I'm doing everything I can-"

"You are going to be no use to anyone if you get caught. We need you. _I_ need you. This whole bloody group would be in complete chaos if it weren't for you! We'd be bloody useless if we had to go to War without you!"

"Getting expelled wouldn't mean-"

"For you, getting expelled before doing your OWLs would mean extradition from the Wizarding World," Fred said seriously. "Don't joke about that. Not ever."

Hermione let out a little puff of breath, her cheeks billowing as she did. She folded her arms and fidgeted on the spot, scowling at the floor and then up at Fred.

"Hermione, if you couldn't practice magic, you'd go insane. It's a part of you," he said slowly. "You'd never be happy living your life as a muggle, not when you know you could have changed our world if you'd just been a bit more rational."

"I _am_ being rational-"

"You're being emotional," Fred argued. "You know you are. You want to go and find your friends and make sure they're okay."

"And what exactly is wrong with that?!" she hissed, trying not to raise her voice since they were still hidden inside the secret passageway.

"Nothing is wrong with that," Fred huffed. "But you of all people are smart enough to know that going after them is going to cause more harm than good!"

"You don't know that!"

"Yes I do!" Fred snapped, starting lose his patience. "Why the fuck are you fighting me on this Hermione?! You know I'm right! I can see it in your eyes!"

"Because I'm scared!" Hermione blurted, watching as Fred's features softened instantly. "I'm scared for my friends and I'm scared for me, and I'm scared because it just keeps getting more and more real. I'm sixteen years old Fred and I don't want to fight in a War, but there's one coming whether I like it or not. And the outcome is going to affect me and my whole life, probably more than finding out I was a sodding witch! If we don't win, if our side doesn't bring Voldemort down...I'm dead. I have no life. At the very least I spend the rest of it on the run, losing everything I know and everyone I love..."

Fred gaped at her and shook his head. "There's one small flaw in that theory," he mumbled.

"Really...and what's that?" Hermione asked, her voice barely a whisper as it cracked.

"What on earth possessed you to believe I'd ever let you leave me behind?" he hummed, looking intently at her.

Hermione scoffed. "What? And abandon your whole family? Abandon George? We haven't even been together that long-"

"Hermione, there's absolutely no way I'd ever let you run off into the night without me," Fred said flatly.

"But-"

"No buts. We lose this war, we run together. I promise," he said, sliding a hand along her jaw and smoothing his thumb across her cheekbone.

"I can't ask you-"

"You're not asking," he said, "I'm telling you. Besides, my entire family are blood traitors, they'd be heading for the hills too."

Hermione nodded, a watery little chuckle escaping her lips. She sniffed again and threw her arms around Fred, burying her face in his chest and feeling her heart swell and her whole body fill with warmth.

Fred sighed and wrapped his own arms around her, squeezing her tight. He rested his chin on her head, his fingers combing through her hair at the top of her neck as he breathed slowly in and out. It almost scared him how much he felt for her. Almost. Without even realising it, she was becoming a part of him, and what shook him more than anything was how little he cared. He didn't want it to stop. He wanted her with him, for as long as possible. For as long as they had.

.

A few minutes later, Fred gently pulled Hermione away from him and gestured to the corridor with his head. They needed to get out and away somewhere. They needed to find a safe place, at the very least, somewhere they could lay low until the coast was clear back to the tower.

"We won't make it to Gryffindor, not yet at any rate," Fred murmured. "I think we should head for our Wheezes classroom..."

Hermione nodded and sighed, following Fred as he ducked out from behind the statue covering the passageway they'd been concealed in. He slipped his hand in hers and gently led her through the dark corridors, listening intently for any movement or noise that might indicate someone was near them. Neither of them realised how much they'd been holding their breath until they were in the classroom with the door locked and the room silenced. Both of them let out a heavy sigh, feeling how fast their hearts were beating beneath their chests as they slowly began to calm.

"We can camp out here till morning if we have to," Fred said softly. "I know it's not much but it beats getting caught..."

Hermione nodded silently again.

"I'm sorry I wouldn't let you go after your friends," Fred said, a heavy weight to his voice that Hermione had never heard before. "I...I wouldn't change it. I'm still not going to let you go. But I am sorry."

Hermione took in a deep breath and nodded for the third time. "I know. You don't need to be sorry. You haven't done anything wrong."

Fred's lips twitched and his eyes filled with mirth. "That's the closest I'm ever going to get to you admitting you were wrong and I was right, isn't it?"

Hermione glared at him. "I wasn't wrong."

Fred grinned softly. "But I was also right...?"

She scowled and folded her arms. "No..."

"You sound mighty convincing right now," he mused, his eyes trained on her as she squirmed a little.

Hermione turned her face towards him and stuck her tongue out. Fred laughed and shook his head, grinning widely at her now. He watched as her features softened and a small smile crept onto her face.

"You want a tour? A gander at the merch? Little preview for my lovely girlfriend?" Fred asked, trying to keep the mood directed towards the light end of the spectrum. "I know you were in here the other day, but I don't think we actually showed you anything..."

Hermione scoffed. "Really? You really want me to know about all your tricks and treats? You trust me that much?" she laughed.

Fred frowned, a sweet little smile on his face. "Hermione, I'd trust you with with my life."

Hermione gaped at him, at the sincerity she could hear in his voice.

"Technically love, that's actually what I'm doing right now..." he said, his eyes running across the workstations they had before flicking back up to Hermione.

"Trusting me with your life?" she murmured.

Fred cleared his throat and shuffled a little nervously. "You remember the other day, out by the lake..."

"The day you went out to sulk because I'm not some damsel in distress?" Hermione asked, smirking at him.

Fred huffed and rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Anyway, you said...you said you knew something was going on with me and George, that we were planning something or waiting for something..."

"Yeah..." Hermione frowned at him, a little worried about what he was going to say next.

"Well, you were right." Fred took a deep breath and sighed. "You were right. We've been planning something since the beginning of the school year..." He winced as he looked at her. "...And I don't think you're going to like it much."

Hermione's frowned deepened. She folded her arms and tried to remain calm. "Why wouldn't I like it?"

"Uh...because it involves ditching school and opening our own joke shop..." Fred bit the inside of his lip and waited for a response.

Hermione blinked. She stuttered and frowned and shook her head a few times. "You what?"

"Well, the snackboxes are all ready to go, and we've got a ton of other products lined up," Fred said, sort of garbling along in an attempt to explain everything at once. "We know we'd be good at this. We know it's what we want to do, it's what we've wanted to do for years!"

"But what about your exams?" Hermione asked, still a little bewildered by it.

Fred shrugged. "We don't need them."

"But what if the joke shop doesn't work? What will you do then?" Hermione asked, trying to remain calm. She saw Fred's face fall a bit and tried to make him understand what she meant. "It's not like I don't believe in you Fred, honestly. But setting up a shop isn't the same as concocting truly amazing stuff in an abandoned classroom. You need to find the right place, you need to find the money-"

"We already have a place, and the money," he said quickly, breathing a small sigh of relief and hoping that it was Hermione's only real hang up.

"You do?"

"Yeah, Harry gave us his triwizard winnings because he didn't want them," Fred said. "So we used them to set up the business and find a shop..."

Hermione's eyebrows shot high up on her head as she looked at him in surprise. "That's...that's...that's _beautiful_ ," she whispered.

Fred gave her an odd sort of look. "Beautiful?"

Hermione laughed softly. "Well, yes. I mean, Cedric died at the hands of an evil, twisted man. A man who thrives on fear and darkness. It's beautiful that the winnings he should have shared with Harry are being used to make people laugh and bring a little more light into the world. It's a good way to honour his memory and stick it to Voldemort at the same time."

Fred breathed out slowly. "Wow, when you put it like that..." he mumbled with a tiny smile.

Hermione shrugged. "It's true though. No one is going to win a war if they can't remember what they're fighting for. If times get so dark they forget how to smile."

Fred frowned at her, truly amazed. "Is that seriously how you see what we do?"

Hermione shrugged and smiled shyly at him. "I may have a bit of a reputation for being a stick in the mud, but even I can see the beauty in what you create. It's just as important as any other kind of job, that's for sure."

"So you don't think we're mad for doing this?" he asked.

"I think you're fucking nuts, which is exactly why it'll work," she grinned.

Fred let out an even bigger sigh of relief and grinned back at her. His smile softened and his whole body grew warm when she stepped into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.

"So...when are you dropping out?" Hermione asked tentatively, her head still buried in his body. She'd heard that bit but had only just registered what it meant.

Fred cleared his throat and squeezed her a little tighter. "I don't know..." he murmured.

Hermione nodded. "Okay..."

"I just know it's soon," he sighed heavily.

"Right," she muttered, not really wanting to let him go for a while now.

After a few seconds of silence Fred took a deep breath and spoke, his voice distinctly wavering as the words came out. "Are you going to be okay if I leave early?"

Hermione felt tears sting the backs of her eyes and wanted to shake her head. She didn't know. In all honesty, if she had to hazard a guess, she'd probably say no. Instead, she cleared her throat and stepped back from him slightly, so she could look up into his eyes. "I'll be perfectly fine," she said, her own voice cracking and her lip wobbling as she tried to smile.

"Hermione," Fred whispered, clear and evident pain on his face, "if you don't want me to go, I won't."

Hermione shook her head, a tear or two escaping and rolling down her cheek. "Don't ask me to ask you to stay. You know I won't ever do that."

Fred nodded, his own eyes glistening as he stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers and ran his hand into her hair. "If I leave...where does that leave us?"

Hermione didn't have a verbal answer good enough, so she threw her arms around his neck and crashed her lips into his. Fred fisted the hand he had in her hair, crushing her body to him with the arm still wrapped around her waist. He kissed her back, utterly lost in who she was and what she meant to him. This woman was everything. She burned in him like nothing he'd ever felt before.

Hermione broke the kiss, panting and gasping for breath. Her head was spinning with how much affection he'd poured into that one kiss and it made her want to laugh and cry all at the same time. Her body was buzzing, like it usually did whenever his lips had been on hers. She blew out a small breath, resting her forehead against his as she tried to calm her racing heart and throbbing libido.

"You figured right, you won't lose me when you leave," she said softly.

Fred kissed her again, slow and gentle. It didn't last more than half a minute but it was enough for Hermione to know how grateful he was and how much it meant to him that she understood.

"Just a couple things," she said, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. "You have got to rid me of my virginity before you go, or I will not be held accountable for the monumental strop I'm likely to have if you don't."

Fred nodded. "I'm pretty sure I can handle the terrible burden you've placed upon me," he chuckled.

"And..." Hermione said, chewing on her lip as she looked up at him, a nervous look on her face that made him frown. "...please, if Umbridge manages to kick me out of school-"

"I _will_ marry you Hermione, I promise," he said seriously.

Hermione shook her head, a small but sad smile on her face. "I'd never hold you to something that extreme, just...just don't forget about me, yeah? Don't...don't just disappear or let everyone else disappear either."

Fred kissed her forehead and wrapped both his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in tight for a bone-crushing hug. "Hermione, I don't think I could ever forget you even if I wanted to. I'm not even sure _oblivio_ would work, love, and I sincerely mean that."

"I know," Hermione whispered. "I just...if you're not here, she's going to think she's won. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to convince her about us when I'm all on my own..."

Fred sighed. "Well, I had thought about it. A little bit. And I figured that since we're not pretending anymore, it shouldn't matter. We are what we are and if we just forget about Umbridge and do us, then we're as legit as we're ever going to be."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah..." She swallowed thickly, not completely sold on his approach.

"I was also going to write to you everyday, and try to come and see you whenever I could," he said, smiling sweetly at her as she pulled back to look at him.

"Okay," she murmured, looking a little more convinced than she had been a moment ago.

"I can stay. I thought about staying, mostly because of Umbridge and leaving you to deal with her on your own but then...I don't know..." he shrugged and looked a little sheepish if not guilty, "...I figured you wouldn't want me hanging around just to _protect_ you, especially from a such a stupid woman who can't even intimidate you properly..."

Hermione chuckled, seeing what Fred meant. She was still scared to do it all without him, but his belief in her sort of set her resolve. She didn't need his protection, they were together, and so she could deal with Umbridge and her stupid little vendetta perfectly well without Fred having to be in the building.

"You make a very good point," she muttered.

"I thought I did too," he grinned, "and I really do mean it when I say, I'll marry you if you get kicked out before you're exams."

Hermione sighed. "I'd rather you marry me because you want to..." sort of slipped out of her mouth.

Fred gulped, beyond grateful that her head was nestled in the crook of his neck instead of looking up at him. He gave a half-hearted chuckle, the immediate thought in his head being that he already wanted to. But he couldn't tell Hermione that, not when it scared him as much as it did, not when he was leaving so soon. He knew he was in deep but they weren't quite there yet.

"I never do anything I don't want," he murmured quietly, smoothing his palm up and down her back. Hermione squeezed him tighter still.

.

The next half an hour was spent sorting out the different concoctions spread across the workbenches, whiling away the minutes until it was hopefully safe to ascend Gryffindor Tower. Hermione helped Fred with the different potions and charms, trying to organise the space a little more efficiently as she went. Fred smiled and shook his head as he watched her.

"So, what happens now? With the DA I mean?" Fred asked, dropping some lacewing into one cauldron and stirring it counter-clockwise twice. "Are we still going to meet up or...?"

Hermione shrugged, shuffling some papers together and laying them neatly beside another cauldron. "I'm not sure that's going to be a good idea. We've been caught once already and they know how to find us now."

"Yeah, about that? How did they know how to get in?" Fred asked. "It was obvious from what Dobby said that they were coming, and that they'd make it inside."

"Someone must have told on us," Hermione said, her tone laced with silent rage.

"But who?"

"We won't know until tomorrow," she said.

Fred frowned. "How are we going to know tomorrow? Whoever it was is never going to come forward...?"

"They won't have to," Hermione muttered angrily, moving on to the next stack of papers and beginning to sort them.

"I'm not following Love," Fred said. "What am I missing?"

Hermione let out a puff of breath and cleared her throat. "I charmed the sign-up sheet. Whoever ratted us out will have _sneak_ written across their forehead in horrible spots and boils."

"You what?" Fred's face fell and he looked at her with wide eyes.

"I put a spell on the paper so that anyone who signed their names would get cursed if they ever spilled the secret," she explained again, fidgeting a little nervously as Fred continued to gape at her. "I know it wasn't particularly very nice but...we're going to be at war soon and it's important that we know who we can trust..."

Fred's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "You sure there's not a decent amount of revenge hidden away in there somewhere?" His lips twitched as he watched her squirm.

"Maybe a little bit," she mumbled, not really wanting to look at him in case he was horrified by her.

Fred chuckled softly. "Remind me never to piss you off, yeah?"

Hermione's eyes immediately flicked to his as she chewed on her lip. "You're not mad?"

Fred shrugged. "I've been mad for a while now, let's be honest. I'm just a bit shocked that you're as mad as me."

Hermione smiled, still fidgeting a little and nervously chewing on her lip. "I just...this is all so important and I didn't want to chance not knowing who turned on us. We were effectively robbed of our right to learn how to defend ourselves from an inevitable attack. To dob us in...it's not right. It's not like we were hurting anyone, we were just trying to prepare ourselves."

Fred nodded. "I get that."

"You don't think I went too far?" she murmured.

"I think I am the last person to judge whether someone else has taken something too far," he said.

"I just feel like, if whoever it was didn't want to be a part of the group anymore, then fine. But don't purposely sabotage everyone else's opportunity," Hermione said. "There's nothing wrong with bowing out and keeping quiet. Like I said, it's not like we were hurting anyone or were any real danger. We weren't planning on storming the Ministry or trying to overthrow the school!" she snapped, getting herself all worked up again.

"You're too brilliant for your own good," Fred said with a grin. "I thought that when you told us about those coins you made."

"The DA coins?" Hermione frowned.

"The very same," Fred grinned. "They were genius. And you floored everyone with your ingenuity."

Hermione blushed, shrugging sheepishly. "We needed a way of communicating," she mumbled.

"Yeah, but not every sixteen year old witch can look at a Dark Mark and use the idea of it to influence their own top secret way of communicating," Fred said.

Hermione gaped at him, her eyes wide. "You got that?"

"I got that," Fred laughed. He pointed at her, "smartest person _on_ paper," then pointed at himself, "smartest person _off_ paper."

Hermione sniggered. "I don't know. I feel like maybe George should get a shot at that title too."

"Meh..." Fred shrugged and wandered around the desks towards her. "Georgie isn't here, so..."

"Smartest person off paper, in the room?" she asked mischeiviously, pointing at him.

Fred laughed, rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Thin ice, love, thin ice," he muttered, lazily pulling her towards him and planting a kiss on her lips.

Hermione grinned, looping her arms around his neck and pressing her whole body up against him, loving the feel of his arms wrapped around her waist. She kissed him back, long and slow and with a smile on her face the whole time. Carding her fingers through Fred's hair, she felt a sliver of pride at hearing him growl softly, squeezing her arse as his lips left hers and made their way down her neck. She gasped as he nipped and sucked and licked at her skin, his hands making their way underneath her shirt and across her almost bare back. She loved the feel of his hands on her skin, just smoothing all along it and sending tiny little zings up and down her spine.

.

Fred found her lips again, backing her up against the table and taking hold of her face with one of his hands. His tongue swirled around in her mouth, playing with hers. He lifted her gently and set her on the table, stepping between her legs and running his fingers through her hair as he continued to kiss her soundly.

His hands travelled back to her waist and up under her shirt, kissing her thoroughly as his fingers skimmed across her stomach, around her back and severely close to her breasts. He hadn't felt her flinch or freeze up yet, and he couldn't help but continue to try and push his luck.

Sliding one hand along her jaw and kissing her like he was never going to get enough of her, he trailed his fingers from her waist, up her stomach and across her chest. He gently palmed her breast, the cotton of her bra soft against his hand.

Hermione had lost herself in Fred. Her fingers were tangled up in his hair, pulling on the strands as she pushed her body into his. She raked her nails across his scalp, moaning as her body thrummed with need. She gasped, breaking their kiss and leaning back a little, feeling Fred's fingers as he gently rubbed her nipple.

She hadn't really noticed his hands getting so close. She was so wrapped up in how he was making her feel and she felt so safe with him that the only thing her brain had decided to register was how good he was making her feel. At some point he'd got particularly bold and slipped his hand up and under her bra, cupping her bare breast and stroking her nipple. It was this intense and completely unfamiliar sensation that made her hips buck, her eyes blow wide and broke her away from him slightly.

Fred went to pull his hand away, worried that he'd perhaps gone a bit too far, given the fact that his girlfriend had completely frozen beneath his touch. Her breath was coming out in soft, hurried little pants, and her face and neck were completely flushed.

Hermione grabbed Fred's hand as he slackened his grip on her, refusing to let him release her. She squeezed her breast through his hand, smashing her lips back into his and upping the frenzy of their kiss tenfold.

She groaned as Fred flicked her nipple, another jolt of pleasure shooting straight down her body and sitting just below her naval. Her kisses became ravenous, her hands spasming as she fisted them in his hair and breathed heavily into his mouth.

Fred kissed down her jaw, latching his lips onto her neck in just the right place. Hermione squirmed beneath his touch, groaning and whimpering as his hands continued to torture her and his tongue licked at the sweet spot above her collarbone. He slipped his free hand behind her and deftly unclipped her bra, trailing his fingers back around to play with her other breast.

Hermione gasped again, her head dropped back and her eyes closed as Fred continued to flick and pinch and squeeze, his lips and tongue sucking and licking all down her neck and across the top of her chest. Her hands pulled his hair as she felt her stomach flutter and a coil of such intense pleasure started to build up in a place she didn't even know she had.

"Fred..." she whined, wanting more and wishing they were somewhere she could take full advantage of the 'alone time' they'd found themselves enjoying. But she knew Fred would never let her first time be up against a table, and that not only frustrated her even more but made her heart beat a little bit faster.

Fred chuckled against her skin, squeezing both her breasts in his hands, rolling a nipple between a thumb and forefinger. Hermione bucked against him again, her hands dropping from his hair to his arse as she pulled him as close as she could get him. She ground herself against the hardness still concealed in his trousers and Fred growled, sucking on her neck and letting go of her breasts to take her hands off his backside and guide them back behind her.

"I will come in my pants if you keep doing that," he murmured, bring his mouth back to hers and swiftly resuming his torture of at least one breast.

Hermione whimpered, bracing herself on the table and keening with every tiny movement his hands made on her skin. She was going to lose it if he didn't snap the coil still growing inside of her. "Fred..." she whined again, her voice a little choked.

"I know love," he whispered, smiling softly at her. "Don't panic. I'm not going to leave you high and dry," he murmured again, his lips inches from hers. "Just...if it's too much and I'm going too far, say. Okay?" He flicked his gaze between each of her eyes, seriously searching hers.

Hermione nodded, not really sure what he meant but her anticipation increasing exponentially. She kept herself leaned back on the table slightly, only pushing forward a little to lock her lips with his as he bent down to give her a soft and gentle kiss. She felt his hand squeeze her breast again, but his kiss wasn't rushed like it had been before. She felt his other hand squeeze her knee before slowly starting to travel higher and higher up her leg, underneath her skirt.

Hermione's brain practically exploded with a hundred thousand different implications about what that meant. Her breathing quickened and she couldn't concentrate on anything but where Fred's hand was on her leg. She let out a ragged little breath and tried to calm her nerves, not sure if it was too much or not. Fred was still kissing her softly and slowly, refusing to let her nerves carry her away. He left her breast to run his fingers along her jaw and smooth her cheekbone with his thumb, all while his hand slid closer and closer to the burning heat between her legs.

"If it's too much, tell me," he whispered again, skimming the outside of her underwear at the apex of her legs.

Hermione let out a strange little sound, something between a whimper, a whine and a mewl. She rested her forehead against Fred's, feeling his fingers gently lingering at the border of her comfort zone.

"We can stop-"

"I swear to God Fred, if you stop now, I will kill you," she hissed, realising that no matter how nervous she was to have him touch such an intimate part of herself, if he didn't, she was likely to go on some kind of sexually-frustrated rampage. She needed this. She needed _him_. And she knew she was safe with him. She knew he was hers and she was his and there was no question that what they felt for each other was real.

Fred kissed her again, his hand falling from her face and back down to one of his new favourite parts of her. He rubbed his thumb over her nipple and squeezed her breast gently, feeling her squirm again. With his other hand, he traced a finger along the inside of her leg, following the seam of her knickers before slipping inside to caress her folds.

Hermione stopped breathing. Her head fell forward into Fred's neck as her arms wrapped around him, gripping tight onto one of his shoulders and the back of his head. His lips connected with her neck, licking and sucking as his fingers continued to torment her so wonderfully. He pinched her nipple as his fingers slid through her lower lips to circle her clit. She thought she'd seen stars, it felt that good. She took in a large gulp of air, gasping at the astounding sensations and holding onto Fred even tighter. She bucked against his fingers as he moved them softly and slowly, teasing her and dipping them inside her.

Hermione moaned, unable to control the noises she was making but loving the way her body felt. The way Fred was making her body feel. Her pulse raced and her breathing became stilted as he moved his fingers deeper inside of her. His lips were still on her neck, his other hand still playing with her breast. She cried out as a wave of pleasure overtook her, coursing through her body as he pressed his thumb to her clit and pumped his fingers in and out of her once and then twice.

"Shit Fred..." she murmured, lifting her head up slightly and moving both her hands to fist in his shirt at his shoulders. She felt like she was holding on for dear life as her body rocked against him of it's own accord. It was like she couldn't stop herself.

"It's okay, love," he whispered back, "I've got you. It's fine."

Hermione whimpered again, squeezing her legs around his hand as another massive wave of ecstasy rolled around her body. She was so close. She could feel it.

Fred sped up a little bit. Not too much, he didn't want to overwhelm her but she was beginning to grind on his fingers in frustration. He knew she needed more. As he used his fingers to stroke the soft flesh inside her, his thumb rubbed against her clit, a little harder and harsher than he'd started with.

Hermione moaned loudly. "Holy shit Fred. Fuck...!" she groaned, rocking against his hand as he expertly built her up and up and up. She screamed softly as he broke the coil within her, sending her over the precipice he'd taken her to and stroking her softly as she fell. Her whole body hummed with the sensation as it pulsed through her, curling her toes and making her twitch in satisfaction.

.

As she came down off her orgasmic high, she couldn't help feel just a little bit embarrassed. She'd really lost herself in the whole thing and now she wasn't sure how to act. Her body was thrumming pleasurably, but she didn't really know how to look Fred in the eye. She was still clinging to him when he gently removed his hands from her knickers and her shirt.

"You okay love?" he asked, sensing that her brain had clicked back in.

Hermione nodded, reaching behind herself and doing her bra back up. She readjusted, clearing her throat and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Chewing on her lip and fiddling with her fingers, she chanced a glance up through her lashes at Fred. He was looking at her in awe, a soft, sweet smile on his face.

"You okay?" he asked again.

Hermione nodded again.

"Was that...was it okay?" he said, sounding nervous himself. "I didn't...I didn't push you too far? Did I?"

Hermione shook her head, her eyes darting around the room.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded a third time.

"Any chance you could say something, love?" Fred asked, trying his best not to sound too exasperated. He wasn't sure whether to be worried or amused.

"Uhhh..." Hermione garbled. "Wh...well...see...uh..."

Fred chuckled, his gaze still adoring as he looked expectantly at her. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, well..." Hermione huffed at herself, a furious blush staining her cheeks. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong with me...and everything is wrong with me. And I don't know what I'm supposed to process first, because that felt so good. And _I_ feel so good. And it was amazing.-"

"Still not sure why you went all...weird," Fred said, gesturing to her whole face.

Hermione looked at him flatly. "Yes you do. I told you. I've never done anything like that before," she said, trying to shrug it off.

"Well, yeah," Fred said, frowning a little bit. "I know I'm the first guy to ever touch you like that..." He trailed off as she bit her lip. His frown deepened. "Hermione, what am I missing?" he asked slowly.

"Wh...uh...well..." Hermione squirmed under his intense gaze. The blush still across her face and neck had turned a bright tomato red and she was finding it difficult to look at him.

"Hermione...have _you_ ever touched you?" Fred asked, raking his eyes over her and feeling his mind explode.

Hermione cleared her throat and squared her shoulders, looking defiantly up at him, waiting for him to laugh at her a little bit. She was shocked to see that he didn't seem the least bit amused.

"Was that...?" he asked again, almost stammering a little bit as though he was at a loss for words.

Hermione sighed and let her shoulders drop. "I, uh...I always thought that I'd be one of those women who found it really hard to...to..." She waved her hand around irritably before grumbling to herself. "...you know?"

"Climax?" Fred offered.

Hermione nodded, feeling quite flustered. "And I have very strict, no nonsense parents, at least when it comes to sex, of any kind. And I just...I don't know..." She shrugged again, grimacing a little bit. "I never really got round to it..."

"So you're saying, that was your _first_ orgasm?" Fred said, wanting to make sure he understood what she was getting at.

Hermione ducked her head, not sure why she felt so embarrassed and maybe even a little bit ashamed. She nodded somewhat timidly, not really wanting to look up at Fred but knowing she was going to have to at some point.

Fred's mind was racing. He couldn't believe she'd trusted him as much as she had. He felt his heart swell with warmth and affection, looking down at her with wide, awestruck eyes. This girl, this woman, she was just everything to him right now and he couldn't foresee a time when she wouldn't be. He swallowed thickly, not really ready to think about that just yet. Instead, he slowly and gently slipped his hands either side of Hermione's face and tilted her head up, so he could look her in the eyes.

"Hey," he murmured, smiling softly at her.

"Hey," she murmured back, chewing on her lip out of habit.

Fred slowly dipped his head, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. He kissed her so sweetly, pouring as much of his heart into it as he could. He peppered a kiss or two across her face before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly.

Hermione instantly relaxed the minute his arms were around her. She buried her nose in his neck and breathed him in, loving how safe she felt in his arms. She hugged him back just as tight, her heart so warm and happy that it made her toes tingle again, although in a slightly different way.

Fred rested his forehead against hers a minute or two later and he let out a contented little sigh.

"Thank you," he whispered to her.

Hermione frowned. "What for? Surely I should be thanking you?"

Fred smiled, letting out a small but amused puff of air. "For trusting me the way you did," he said.

"Oh..." Hermione said, playing with the hair on the back of his neck, his arms still looped around her waist. "Well..." she gave a mini-shrug. "Of course I trust you. I can't explain it, because it's not like we've been together long...but...I probably trust you more than just about anybody..."

Fred let out a flustered little puff. He wanted to tell her that he thought he might be in love with her, but the words just wouldn't come out. Instead he just kissed her again softly and bundled her up tight in his arms.

"I probably trust you more than just about anybody, too," he murmured.

"Even George?" Hermione teased lightly.

Fred chuckled. "George doesn't count."

Hermione squeezed him tighter still, loving the feel of his whole body wrapped around her. She jumped off the table so she could pull her body flush against his, her hands sliding down from his neck to his waist so she could stand cuddled into him with her face in his chest. Fred smiled, his own arms curled around her shoulders, holding her tight. He kissed the top of her head before resting his cheek against it, standing with her in his arms for several long minutes.

.

"We should really get back to the tower now, or we'll be pushing our luck to get back at all," Fred said, sighing as he let her go.

Hermione nodded, frowning as a small but irritating thought pushed it's way to the front of her brain. "But, what about you?"

"What about me?" Fred frowned back, gathering up a few bits and re-installing the different stasis and concealment charms on all the potions being brewed.

"Well...don't you want some kind of...um... _release_?" Hermione sputtered.

Fred looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you offering?" His mouth twitched as he tried to contain his amusement.

"Uhh..." Hermione went bright red, huffing and puffing to herself. "Well, it is only fair-"

"No," Fred said, shaking his head, torn between laughing and glaring at her. "It's not only fair. Just because I gave you an orgasm tonight doesn't mean you owe me one. It will never mean you owe me one."

Hermione fidgeted on the spot. "But what if I want to owe you one?" she asked, biting down on her lip and looking up at him with an all too innocent expression on her face.

It was Fred's turn to splutter. " _What_?"

Hermione shrugged. "I _want_ to owe you one. We haven't got time tonight for me to go as slow as I want or as I'll probably need...but I owe you one. Because I want to, not because I should."

"Yeah, okay," Fred mumbled, his voice sounding sort of strangled.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, frowning at him again.

"Peachy," he muttered, clearing his throat and trying not to glare at the woman. Truth be told, his raging hard on had subsided somewhat when he'd realised he'd given her the first orgasm of her life; not because that wasn't hot as hell but more because she seemed to be having a tough time processing the experience and adjusting to it. Now, it seemed to have come back full force.

"Are you sure? You look a little frustrated?" Hermione said.

"Nope, I'm perfectly fine," he said quickly, trying to gain some control. How the hell did this woman not know that telling a bloke you wanted to get him off would incidentally turn him straight on?!

"Fred-"

"Hermione!" he cried, raising his hands in exasperation. "I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! Just..." He growled, then pulled her into him, shoving his tongue down her throat and pressing his whole body along the length of hers. He walked her back towards the door, pushing her up against it and grinding his hips into hers, trying to illustrate what his problem was.

Hermione moaned and whimpered. Fred collected every ounce of self-control he possessed and broke the kiss, panting hotly down her cheek and resting his forehead against her own. He rolled his hips along hers again, knowing she could feel him.

"You..." He huffed, shaking his head and feeling somewhat stupid since he'd never had trouble being open and honest about sex. "You _really_ get me hot. You barely have to try. You...you cannot tell me you want to get me off and not expect me to get _immediately_ hard as hell."

"Oh shit," Hermione muttered guiltily. "I'm so sorry Fred..."

Fred chuckled softly. "It's not your _fault_ love. I'm not blaming you, I'm just trying to explain. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure you don't need a hand?" Hermione asked, not really thinking about what she was saying.

Fred barked a short laugh. "Hermione, I definitely need a hand." He looked at her ruefully, a small smirk on his face as she realised what she'd said and chewed her lip, trying not to snigger. "Maybe we'll save your hand for another night though, yeah?"

Hermione nodded, kissing him sweetly. "Thank you, for understanding. And for not making me feel like shit about it."

Fred shrugged. "What would be the point in that? Other than ultimately revealing how much of an asshole I'd actually be, and considering you've got a smart head on your shoulders, basically asking you to dump me?" He chuckled, kissing her quickly and smiling down at her. "Besides, if I make you feel like shit over something so asinine, I'm not likely to get that I.O.U paid up, am I?" he added with a cheeky wink and a light laugh.

"Well, when you put it like that," she giggled, smiling softly up at him. She bit her lip, her eyes flicking all over his face. "But seriously, I just...you make me feel safe. I feel safe with you. So, you know, thank you..." She blew out a breath and gave him a hesitant little grin. "Thanks for letting me take my time."

Fred kissed her softly and took her hand, afraid if he spoke he'd end up telling her how deep his feelings really ran, and knowing if he did, he'd never be able to leave on his venture with George.

.

The two of them made their way back to Gryffindor tower with only one narrow escape. Climbing through the portrait, both their smiles slipped from their faces at the sombre expressions they saw all sat around the fireplace.

"What happened?" Hermione asked in a shakey voice. "Who got caught?"

Ron swallowed thickly and met her gaze. "Harry," he said.

Hermione turned to Harry, her mouth agape. "What...? How...? Harry?" she garbled.

"Dumbledore's gone," Harry said softly. "They wanted to arrest him because of the DA. He took the fall. He said we were his army and that he was plotting to take over the ministry."

"Holy shit!" Fred exclaimed, taking a seat next to Hermione as she sat down opposite Harry.

"Yeah," Harry said. "When they went to arrest him, he just vanished. Disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Hermione frowned.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it was kind of awesome to be honest. He told them all they were under the illusion he was going to 'come quietly' and that he had no intention of going to Azkaban, even though he could quite easily break out, because it was a complete waste of time and he had a load of other stuff he'd rather be doing."

"No way!" Fred laughed. "That's amazing!"

Harry grinned and nodded again. "It kind of was."

Hermione shook her head. "But what are we going to do now? Now that Dumbledore isn't here to protect us? Umbridge will be Headmistress by tomorrow morning and then what?"

Fred and Harry instantly stopped laughing, their faces falling.

"Well for a start, we're gonna have to sell this thing between you and Hermione even harder," Harry sighed.

Fred shared a look with Hermione. One that said 'maybe I shouldn't leave' with her return look saying 'I'll be perfectly fine, don't let her win' all in one go.

"Well, I don't think they really do need to sell it," Ginny said, her face scrunched up in thought. "They're in a real relationship. It's not pretend. Any idiot can see they're madly in love. Umbitch won't have a leg to stand on."

Fred tried not to choke at Ginny's wording and watched Hermione turn bright red. _Love_. It wasn't that he didn't feel it, and he knew arguing with his sister wouldn't get him anywhere because it was just that obvious. But he hadn't said it to Hermione yet and she hadn't said it to him and saying so would just make everything even more real and even more complicated and he wasn't ready for that yet. He was pretty sure that she wasn't either.

"The problem is," Hermione squeaked, trying to calm herself, "that Umbridge isn't any idiot. She'll go above and beyond to prove this isn't real, that we're faking it."

"Yeah, but where exactly is that going to get her?" George asked with a frown. "You can't expel a student for lying."

"Maybe not with Dumbledore still in charge, but I'm sure with him out the way, she'll invoke whatever stupid rules she wants," Hermione huffed, frustrated with the situation, not George. "And the way the ministry is at the minute, no one is going to care what she expelled a mudblood for."

"Hey, stop calling yourself that." Fred frowned at her, nudging her slightly as she finished.

Hermione shrugged. "It's just a word. I know there's nothing wrong with my blood, and I haven't been a part of the magical world long enough for it to carry any real weight."

"Well I have," Fred said, still staring at her.

Hermione looked back at him, her eyes softening as she nodded. "Sorry."

Fred wrapped an arm around her and gave her a small hug. "You don't need to be sorry. I just...just because you don't care and it doesn't hurt you, doesn't mean I don't get angry any time I hear it. I know there's nothing wrong with your blood either, but it also reminds me of all the things that go with a word like that. All the connotations it carries."

Hermione nodded again. "Fair enough. I get that."

"So what? You think Umbridge is going to be after Mione even more now?" George asked.

Harry looked grim. "Yeah. If she's really clever she'll do us both in at the same time."

"We won't let that happen," Ginny said fiercely. "If she wants a fight, she's gonna get one."

George nodded. "Yeah, she will." He looked up at Fred and tipped his head towards an unoccupied corner of the from. "We need to talk mate..."

Fred sighed and stood up. "Yeah, we do."

Hermione glared up at him as he kissed her forehead. "I meant what I said earlier, Fred."

"I know love," he said, smirking at her. "I'm just going to relay the message to George and tell him to argue with _you_ if he has a problem."

Harry frowned as he watched the twins wonder off to the corner. "What was that about?"

"Nothing important," Hermione said, turning back to Harry as he started to tell her what exactly happened the minute they all started bolting from the room of requirement.

.

Fred turned to George the minute they were out of earshot and shook his head. "Don't even start, she won't hear of it. If you want to stay till the end of the school year, you're the one that's going to argue with her, not me."

George gaped at him. "She knows?"

"Of course she knows. I told you I was going to tell her," Fred said.

"Well yeah, but I didn't think you'd do it so soon," George said.

Fred scoffed softly. "Mate, you tell a girlfriend like Granger that you're dropping out of school with as much notice as physically possible unless you want to be single when you leave."

George frowned at him.

"If the answer to 'when?' is less than 48 hours, you obviously don't know her well enough to know that she needs time to adjust and prepare," Fred explained. "Urgo, you leave single. Because if you don't know by now, you'll never know, and if you'll never know, she's wasting her time."

"Okay," George said with a small nod. "So she's completely cool with us dropping out?"

Fred shrugged. "She wasn't, at least not until I told her about Harry's winnings and what we'd done with them."

"And now she's all on board?" George asked, somewhat sceptical.

"Yeah," Fred said.

"Okay," George said for the second time. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "What about Umbridge?"

"What about her?" Fred frowned.

"You seriously think it's a good idea to up and leave when she's out for blood?" George said.

"Hermione will be savage if we don't leave," Fred said, groaning at how stubborn his girlfriend could be. "She doesn't need _protecting_. At least not from Umbitch. At least not that way."

George continued to stare at Fred. "So you're perfectly happy to leave the woman you love at the mercy of the pink toad's wrath?"

Fred fidgeted uncomfortably. "I think perfectly happy is going a bit too far," he huffed irritably.

"I like how that's the bit you don't agree with," George snickered.

Fred snorted. "Like I could effectively argue that I'm not in love with her, least of all to you."

"Have you told her yet?" George asked. "Have you actually said it to her?"

Fred shook his head and swallowed. "No. That was the first time I actually said it out loud. If I say it to her, we won't be leaving."

"So we don't leave-"

"We have to leave," Fred said. "We just...we have to. It's what feels right. It's what should happen."

"And if you're girlfriend gets expelled and kicked out of the Wizarding World?"

Fred looked flatly at him and raised his eyebrows.

George groaned. "Fuck it," he huffed. "I knew you weren't just saying it."

Fred shrugged complacently.

"Damn it Fred," George muttered. "When you marry Hermione, and yes, I do mean _when_ not _if_ , you should do it because you're in love and it's the right time and all that other sappy shit. Not because you need to in order to stop some spiteful pink bureaucrat from deporting her to the muggle world."

Fred smiled at George and shook his head. "Mate, _when_ I marry Granger, no matter the when, I can assure you, it'll be because I need to."

George scoffed a laugh and rolled his eyes at his brother. "Eighteen. Your eighteen. If you get married before you're twenty, mum's going to think Mione's pregnant."

Fred shrugged. "Mum's going to think she's gone mad the minute she finds out she's dating _me_."

George chuckled. "Fair one. That much is true."

"Thanks," Fred grinned.

George smiled softly at him. "You really do love her, don't you? Like, forever love her."

Fred's confident demeanour slipped a little and his cheeks grew red. He shrugged and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, anxiously looking up at Georgie. "I can't explain it."

"I wasn't asking you to," George said.

"I just...I have this overwhelming feeling that...she's just _it_ for me." Fred frowned, swallowing hard. "And I don't care. I mean, I'm not afraid of it. I'm eighteen George and the fact that it feels like she _should_ be beside me for the next sixty years isn't freaking me out. Like, at all. It just feels so... _right_."

George was at a loss for words. He knew his brother had fallen, and hard, but he had no idea he was this deep already. He pulled Fred in for a hug, squeezing him tight. "I'm happy you're happy. Now, just whatever you do, don't let her go or fuck it up. Please? I don't really want to deal with you moping about for the rest of your life."

Fred chuckled, giving him a little slap on the back. "Okay. I promise I'll do my best."

"We're still not staying, are we?" George groaned.

"You literally just told me not to fuck this up," Fred said.

George rolled his eyes. "Only you could land a girlfriend that would see _not_ abandoning her at the worst possible moment, as fucking up."

Fred merely grinned, widely.


	8. Chapter 8

Overnight. That was how long it took for the entire student body to know what happened in Dumbledore's office. There was the odd embellishment here and there, but the rest of the information was weirdly accurate. If Hermione had to guess, she'd say the portraits and paintings in his office had something to do with it.

Hermione, Harry and Ron were walking back from Herbology, listening to Ernie Macmillan tell them how he'd heard from the Fat Friar that Umbridge had tried to get into the Head's office and been denied entrance.

"Apparently, she had a right little tantrum," he said.

Hermione was buzzing, her blood already beginning to boil. "Oh, I expect she really fancied herself sitting up there in the Head's office," she said viciously, as they walked up the stone steps to the Entrance Hall. "Lording over all the other teachers, the stupid puffed-up, power-crazy old-"

"Now, do you really want to finish that sentence, Granger?" Malfoy drawled from behind her, sliding out from the shadow of one of the huge oak doors, his face shining with evil excitement. Crabbe and Goyle flanked him as usual, grinning manically at them all. "Afraid I'm going to have to dock a few points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," he said lazily, smiling as he watched their expressions.

"It's only teachers who can dock points from houses, Malfoy," Ernie said at once.

"Yeah," Ron snarled, "we're prefects too, remember?"

Malfoy sneered. "I know prefects can't dock points, Weasel King." His goons sniggered beside him. "But members of the Inquisitorial Squad-"

"The what?" Hermione snapped, cutting him off.

"The Inquistorial Squad, Granger," Malfoy said, smirking as he pointed to a small silver _I_ on this robes, just beneath his prefect badge. "A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic, hand-picked by Professor Umbridge." His expression was getting more and more smug by the second. "Anyway, members of the Inquistorial Squad _do_ have the power to dock points...so, Granger, I'll have five from you for being rude about our new Headmistress. Macmillan, five for contradicting me. Five because I don't like you, Potter." Harry rolled his eyes and looked like he couldn't care less. "Weasley, your shirt's untucked, so I'll have another five for that." Ron started turning his signature shade of red. "Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a mudblood Granger, so ten off for that."

Ron pulled his wand out, steam almost erupting from his ears. Hermione pushed it away, whispering to him. "Don't!" she said.

"Wise move, Granger," Malfoy breathed. "New head, new times...be good now, Potty...Weasel King..." He strode away laughing with Crabbe and Goyle.

Ernie looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "He was bluffing," he said, his face scrunched up in disgust. "He can't be allowed to dock points. That would be ridiculous. It would completely undermine the prefect system."

Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't answer him. Instead they'd turned to look at the giant hour-glasses set in niches along the wall behind them. Sure enough, stones were flying upwards from the bottom to the top of every hour-glass except the emerald-filled one of Slytherin.

"Noticed, have you?" Fred muttered darkly, joining them after having seen them as he and George decended the marble staircase.

"Malfoy just docked us about fifty points," Harry huffed, watching as more stones flew upwards from the Gryffindor hour-glass.

"Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break," George said.

"What d'you mean, _tried_?" Ron asked, an amused frown on his face.

"He never managed to get all the words out," Fred said.

"What did you do?" Ernie said, eyes wide and a little terrified.

"Shoved him head first into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor," Fred replied, shrugging and biting his lip in an attempt to keep the smile off his face.

Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "You'll get into serious trouble for that," she said.

Fred shrugged again and winked at her. "Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I dunno where we sent him," he said. "Anyway...we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble any more."

"Have you ever?" Hermione scoffed, an amused little smile on her face.

Fred clutched his chest and feigned absolute outrage. "Love, that hurt..."

Hermione giggled and shook her head. "I'm sure you'll get over it."

"Maybe," Fred mumbled, pouting at her. "I might get over it faster if I had a kiss...?"

Hermione rolled her eyes again and gave him a quick kiss, laughing as his wide smile returned.

"Urgh, you two make me sick," George grumbled. "Anyway! The point is, we've never been expelled."

"No, we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem," Fred said with a nod, throwing an arm across Hermione's shoulder.

"And now?" Ron asked tentatively.

George grinned. "Well, now-"

Fred looked at his twin and back to his little brother. "-what with Dumbledore gone-"

"- we reckon a bit of mayhem-"

"- is exactly what our dear new Head deserves," Fred finished, almost triumphantly.

"What?" Harry said, his whole face dropping as he looked at the pair of them. "But what if you get expelled?"

Fred sighed and shrugged for the third time. "Well, we'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit for Dumbledore first."

"But what about Hermione?" Harry cried, gesturing to the girl wrapped up under Fred's arm.

"I told him to go Harry," Hermione said, staring softly but stubbornly at her best friend.

"You did _what_?!" Harry gaped at her. " _Why_?! I thought you were supposed to be smart?!"

Hermione glared at him and he recoiled somewhat.

Fred sniggered before looking at his watch. "Right you lot, phase one is about to begin," he said, nodding at George. "I'd get in the Great Hall for lunch, if I were you. That way, the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it."

"Oh god. What have you done now?" Hermione asked, looking up at the pair of them.

"You'll see," George said with a grin. "Run along now."

The twins turned and disappeared, Fred blowing a kiss to Hermione as he went. Ernie, looking very disconcerted, muttered something about unfinished homework and bolted away from them as fast as he could.

"Come on," Hermione sighed. "We'd best get out of here too. Before we end up with the blame."

Ron nodded and started walking towards the Great Hall, Harry trailing behind. Before they'd even managed to make it through the doors, Filch had commandeered Harry and told him Umbridge wanted to see him. Hermione grimaced as she watched him follow Filch out of the Entrance Hall.

.

Hermione dropped down heavily onto the bench next to Ron, picking a few things for lunch but not really in the mood for eating. She watched Ron shovel half the table in his mouth, feeling a little jealous that no matter his mood he could always eat.

"You okay?" he asked.

Hermione nodded.

"You sure?" Ron licked his lips and turned to face her a little bit. "I know you're all independent and that, but it's a bit of a dick move for Fred to just fuck off and leave you to deal with everything. Maybe before Dumbledore went, I could understand, but now? Not so much."

Hermione smiled at him. "He genuinely said he'd stay. Even before Dumbledore left. He was going to stay. But..." She shrugged, looking down at the table as she thought out loud. "I can't explain it, but it feels right that he leaves. I think Fred and George have out grown this place. I think they need more."

"You know what they're up to, don't you?" Ron said, eyeing her curiously.

Hermione cleared her throat and squirmed, a blush staining her cheeks. "Maybe."

Ron laughed. "Well, good for you. I'm glad he's not keeping all his secrets with George. I'd have been more pissed if he'd left you high and dry without warning or explanation."

Hermione smiled. "You would?"

Ron shrugged. "Course I would. You need information the way most of us need air. If he hadn't learnt that by now, I'd at least _try_ and kick his arse for you."

Hermione chuckled and sighed, looking at Ron with such warmth and happiness. "You know I love you Ron, right? You know you're as much my best friend as Harry?"

Ron turned bright red and spluttered, nodding a bit. "Same, yeah?"

Hermione giggled and nodded back, reaching for some food and feeling much better.

"Have you told Fred you're in love with him yet?" Ron asked out of the blue.

Hermione choked and looked at Ron with wide eyes.

"I'll take that as a no then?" Ron said, passing her some pumpkin juice.

Hermione coughed and chugged down half the cup, wiping the back of her hand before looking at Ron again. "No, I haven't. I...I don't actually know if I _am_ in love with him."

Ron half scoffed and half snorted. "Like Harry said, I thought you were supposed to be smart?"

Hermione scowled at him.

"What? It's true! If you're not sure you're in love with him, it's because you're in denial, not because you don't feel it." Ron shook his head and picked up a sausage, taking bite off the end of it.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably and glanced over at him every few seconds. "There was a time I thought I might be in love with you-"

Ron really did snort this time. "Me?!" He laughed. "Well it's a good job you came to your senses then, innit?"

Hermione huffed and started chewing on her lip in thought. "Are you saying you never thought that way about me? Not even once."

Ron grunted, his cheeks turning a nice pink in reply. "Maybe. Once. Or twice."

Hermione chuckled watching him get all flustered.

"But my point is," he said suddenly, as though his train of thought was back on track, "that once you and Fred were together, even when...you know...you weren't exactly _together_ , well, my point is, that you two just made _sense_."

Hermione blinked at him. "We did? We do?"

"Yeah." Ron laughed softly. "I just...I wasn't even disappointed. Seeing you together...it was just..." He shrugged and smiled at her. "We'd never have had that. We'd never even have come close to having what you and Fred do. We'd have just made the biggest mess of our friendship, and to be honest, I already make enough of a mess of it as it is, without your help thanks."

Hermione let out a long and loud laugh, grinning at him and smacking the back of her hand against his shoulder. "You don't make a mess of it Ron," she said with a sigh, smiling up at him adoringly. "Occasionally you push it to it's limits, but generally, you're a wonderful friend."

"You too," Ron said, nodding and going back to his food. "But you should tell Fred you're in love with him. And before he leaves."

"But-"

"Come on Hermione," Ron said with a smile, "you can't be thick enough to think that just because you were wrong about us, you're wrong about you and Fred. It's Fred that made you realise how wrong _we'd_ have been."

Hermione sighed. "I'll think about it."

"I'm just saying, you never know what's going to happen or when you'll get chance to tell him after he's gone," he said.

Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes. "He's not dying Ron," she said exasperatedly. "If I don't get to say it before he's expelled, _if_ he gets expelled, then I'll just tell him over the holidays."

Ron shrugged. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and Ron frowned at her, giving her a strange look.

"He's rubbing off on you and I don't know if I like it," he muttered. Hermione sniggered and stuck her tongue out at him again.

It was at that point they heard it. A very loud BOOM!

.

Fred was hiding out with George inside a door that was concealed behind a tapestry, not long having set off their newly perfected fireworks. He was trying to suppress his laughter as he listened to Filch and Umbridge desperately run around and attempt to calm the chaos he and George had caused. They hadn't been there long when Harry slipped through the door himself.

"Impressive," Harry murmured, grinning at the twins. "Very impressive. You'll put Dr Filibuster out of business, no problem..."

"Cheers," George whispered, silently laughing so hard that he was having to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Oh I hope she tries vanishing them next. They multiply by ten every time you try."

Fred sniggered as he listened intently to the commotion coming from outside the door, waiting for the right moment to flee further from the scene. As the excitement began to slowly die down and both Umbride and Filch's cries started to fade, Fred noticed Harry watching them with a frown on his face.

"What?" Fred asked, still keeping his voice low.

"Do you really not care if you get expelled?" Harry said, his eyes still flicking from one brother to another.

George pointed to Fred. "Pretty sure he's the one you want this conversation with. I don't recall dating your best mate."

Fred growled at George and then sighed as he looked back at Harry, his shoulders dropping. "Of course I care," he said. "Of course I care but..."

"But what?" Harry said, spreading his hands out wide. "You're just going to leave Hermione and fuck off out of here?"

Fred was torn between glaring at Harry and looking hopelessly at him. "I don't want to leave her. But, she won't let me stay."

"She can't _make_ you go," Harry argued.

"No, but she can break up with me. And she bloody well would, too," Fred huffed, folding his arms irritably.

"Fred...she's going to be in so much trouble once your gone. Shit's really going to hit the fan, and most of it'll end up on her," Harry said, forlorn eyes on the ginger-haired boy.

"I know," Fred said, feeling his eyes sting as he tried to quell the urge to cry. He was really worried about Hermione, more than it seemed anyone realised.

"So stay, _please_..." Harry asked. "For her."

Fred shook his head and ran his hands down his face. "I can't..."

"Do you love her or not?" Harry hissed rather harshly.

Fred's eyes snapped to his, his glare dark and deadly. "Don't _ever_ question the way I feel about her. Ever."

Harry was momentarily shocked but recovered rather quickly. "So prove it. Stay," he challenged.

Fred jaw twitched as his anger and frustration grew. "Harry, I get where you're coming from mate. Truly, I do. But kindly _fuck_ _off_ , yeah?"

Harry went to snap at him but was cut off by George who'd put his hand gently on Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, leave it, yeah?" George said. "I know you're only trying to protect her, but this isn't up to you. It's not up to anyone but the two of them."

"He can't leave her George," Harry pleaded. "He can't."

"Well I can't stay either!" Fred snapped. "She'll have a fucking hissy fit if I don't go."

"So she has a hissy fit!" Harry snapped back. "At least she passes her O.W.Ls before she's expelled, and gets to stay in the Wizarding World!"

"Harry! Just-" Fred cut himself off with a roar, not really caring about who might hear him. He fisted his hands in his hair and paced up and down the small space. "You want me to prove that I love her? This _is_ me proving that I love her!"

Harry frowned and looked at him in bewilderment. "Getting yourself expelled is proving that you love her?"

"No. _Trusting_ her, is proving that I love her," Fred said slowly. He wasn't sure if it was just so he could contain his anger or because he felt like he was explaining it to a child.

"Trusting her?" Harry said, not looking all that much convinced.

"Yes, trusting her." Fred shook his head and looked up at the scruffy-haired boy. "I have to trust her Harry. Trust that she knows what she can take and what she can handle. She's told me to go. She's told me she can deal with it. And the last time I tried to protect her my way, she screamed at me and told me I could either deal with it or we weren't going to work."

Harry blanched at that. "Really?"

Fred scoffed at him and frowned. "I thought she was _your_ best friend?"

"She is!"

"Then how come you sound just like Ron? With the observational skills of a fish and the emotional range of a teaspoon?" Fred bit back.

Harry gaped at him.

"She's her own person Harry, with her own thoughts and feelings and opinions. And to me, they matter-"

"They matter to me too!" Harry cried indignantly.

"Good! So you're going to wind your neck in then?" Fred said, his eyebrows high on his head as he looked at Harry.

"I just don't want to see her get hurt," Harry said with a sigh.

Fred nodded. "I know. Which is why I haven't hit you yet."

George snickered.

"Yet...?" Harry said, looking dubiously at Fred.

"Yeah, _yet_." He folded his arms and leant against the wall. "You keep insinuating I don't love Hermione enough, or telling me I shouldn't respect her opinion or her feelings, and I can assure, we're _really_ going to fall out."

Harry stared at Fred in contemplation. After a minute or two, he huffed and nodded. "Yeah, okay..."

"Okay," Fred said with a great sigh of relief.

"Are _we_ okay?" Harry asked, grimacing a little as Fred looked up at him.

Fred chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, we're okay."

"Good." Harry grinned. "So, you're definitely in love with Hermione then...?"

Fred rolled his eyes. "I thought that was pretty obvious."

"Oh, it is," Harry said, nodding eagerly. "I just wasn't sure whether you'd woken up yet or you were still, you know...dancing around it."

Fred scowled at him.

"Have you told her yet?" Harry asked.

George laughed. "Good one Harry."

"Fuck off," Fred grumbled at his brother.

"So that's a no," Harry sighed. "Well, you should probably do it while you have chance. Before you're expelled. Or you leave."

Fred nodded and shrugged. "I'll do it when I'm ready. When it's the right time."

"I didn't know there was a right time when it came to telling someone something like that," Harry mused.

"I tell you what, Harry," Fred said, evidently now completely fed up with him, "when you fall in love with someone, then you can come and give me your unwanted advice. How's that?"

George snickered again as Harry sighed and nodded.

"She is my best friend," Harry muttered. "More like my sister actually-"

"Well, when you start dating Ginny, you can welcome us to your world," Fred muttered back.

Harry jerked back and frowned at him. "But I'm not interested in Ginny. At least not like that."

Fred shrugged. "I wasn't interested in Hermione. At least not like that. Never say never..." He winked at Harry as he opened the door, leaving the boy stunned, as he walked out with a smirk on his face. George followed, patting Harry sympathetically on the back as he went.

.

That night, Fred and George were the heroes of the Gryffindor common room. Their fireworks had disrupted the entire school, so that Umbridge's first day as Headmistress was spent running around trying to rid the classrooms of them. Strangely, none of the other teachers seemed able to do it for themselves and took great delight in summoning her for assistance. Everyone was on a high, revelling in the wonderful chaos the twins had created. Hermione had to fight her way through the excited crowd just to get to them.

"Those fireworks were amazing!" she said, beaming at both of them.

"Thanks," George said, looking both surprised and pleased. "Weasley's Whiz-bangs. Only thing is, we used our whole stock. We're going to have to start again from scratch now."

"It was worth it though." Fred grinned as he took orders from clamouring Gryffindors.

Hermione rolled her eyes and grinned back.

"Have you not got any homework or studying to do, Mione dearest?" George asked, tipping his head at Harry and Ron who were sat at a table staring ruefully at their school bags.

Hermione shook her head. "I do believe you've made me feel a bit...rebellious," she said. "So, no. I think we should have a night off. It's the Easter holidays on Friday, and we'll have plenty of time for homework and studying then."

George grinned and gave her a one armed hug. "That's the spirit Mione!"

Hermione laughed and shoved him off.

"Well, I wish I could be so care-free," Fred sighed. "But I've got to go and sort out some more of our products. Check some of the potions and start the next stage on one or two."

Hermione shrugged. "I'll come with you if you like? Keep you company?"

George's eyebrows quickly hit his hairline. "Fucking hell Mione! You weren't kidding were you?! Leaving the common room after hours, on purpose and everything! You rebel!"

Fred snorted and shook his head, nearly done with his list of pre-orders. Hermione shoved George and stuck her tongue out at him before walking over to Harry and Ron and telling them to take the night off.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ron asked, his eyes wide.

Hermione smacked him across the shoulder with the back of her hand. "Yes, I'm feeling fine," she snapped gently, smiling at him. "I'm sneaking out with Fred in a bit too, so you can drop your jaw if you like, really add to that expression of disbelief you've got going on."

Ron dropped his jaw and stared at her. "What have you done with Hermione Granger?" he murmured.

Hermione chuckled and shook her head.

"Seriously though," Ron said, closing his mouth and clearing his throat, "you've been hanging around my brother way too much. He's starting to rub off on you."

Fred snickered as he came up behind her, slinging an arm across her shoulders. "I do so like rubbing off on her." He grinned and waggled his eyebrows at Ron.

Ron made wretching noises and turned away from them.

"Fred!" Hermione hissed, slapping his arm gently as her face flushed red.

Fred laughed and kissed her cheek. "Come on love, if you're sneaking out with me, we've got to go now," he said.

Hermione nodded and slipped her hand in his, waving to Harry and Ron as she left.

.

Fred stepped out of the common room with Hermione's hand still wrapped in his. He led her quickly down the corridor and along the halls, his ears pricked for any sound or scuffle that might indicate they were about to run into someone. They made it safely to their classroom without being caught.

Fred busied himself with the tasks he'd gone there to do. He guided Hermione along with him, giving her instructions on what to do and when, since she insisted on helping him out. Once the majority of it was done, he sighed and rubbed his hands together, nodding once and going to sit on the small sofa in the corner of the room.

"We've got an hour and a half before we can do anything else," he explained. "I usually just wait it out here because it saves being caught trying to get in and out again."

Hermione nodded and came to sit beside him. "What do you usually do while you wait?" she asked.

Fred smirked at her, turning to face her on the sofa. "You won't believe me..."

"Try me..."

He bit his lip and looked up at her, a sort of warm vulnerability to him. "I study."

Hermione snorted as she twisted to mirror him. "You study?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I study. Told you that you wouldn't believe me."

Hermione frowned at him and looked around the room at all the potions and products lining the workbenches. She chewed on her lip as her gaze found it's way back to him. "Maybe once, a little while ago, I wouldn't have believed you. Now? Now it makes perfect sense."

Fred smiled softly at her, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. His hand ran the length of her jaw until his fingers were cradling the back of her head.

Hermione sighed, reaching out and holding onto him, her lips parting, his tongue slipping inside. Her hands quickly threaded through his hair as she moaned softly, Fred's kiss making her whole body thrum.

He leant further into her, slowly guiding her down until she was stretched out across the sofa, his body pressed softly along the length of hers. His tongue tangled with hers as he kissed her deeply. His lips left her mouth and trailed hot kisses across her jaw and down her neck, licking and sucking softly at her skin.

He pulled back slightly, just enough to manoeuvre his hands to the top of her shirt without crushing her, bracing himself on his elbows. As he slowly undid the first button, he continued to kiss across her shoulders and her chest. Her hands were still in his hair, fisting and tugging as he nipped and licked at her. Her chest rose and fell, her breathing becoming more rapid the lower he got. He peppered kisses across the swell of her breasts, red lace peeking out from the few buttons he'd undone.

Hermione hummed happily as his lips pressed against hers again. The tension leaked out of her body as he focused entirely on her mouth, his hand back on her face as he tried to calm her mind and relax her body.

Fred murmured against her lips. "If I'm going too fast or too far-"

"You're not," she whispered. "You're not. I'm just...nervous, I guess."

Fred sighed and kissed her again. Another one of those soul scorching kisses that he'd only ever shared with her.

"You've got nothing to be nervous about," he said.

Fred shuffled back down her body a little, looking up at her as his fingers came to rest on the next of her shirt buttons. She nodded softly, her eyes wide. He could almost feel her body buzzing with anticipation. As he undid the next few buttons, he kept his eyes on hers and she held his gaze.

Fred bit back a growl as she pulled her lip back into her mouth, gently chewing on it as she focused on his progress. As he twisted the last button of her shirt through the fabric, she clamped her eyes shut and pressed her scrunched up fists into them. Fred smiled to himself as he kissed her on the mouth again, pulling her hands away so he could look in her eyes.

"Love, you're perfect," he murmured, pushing her shirt open and kissing her again, his eyes never leaving her face.

Hermione's cheeks blazed as she watched him look down at her. She thanked the heavens that she'd put on her pretty red lace bra this morning instead of her old comfy cotton one. A thrill ran up her spine as she saw his eyes darken, heat and desire and lust taking over his face as his gaze raked across her upper body. It gave her more confidence than she'd ever remembered having, but she had a feeling that a good portion of it was down to the fact that she was with Fred. She pushed up from the sofa, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she pulled her shirt from her arms and dropped it to the floor. Fred groaned, smashing his lips back into hers and kissing her like he needed her to breathe. There was something so damn sexy about that look in her eye.

Hermione grinned as Fred continued to maul her mouth, his hands trailed all along her body like he just didn't know where to start first. The feel of his warm palms across her stomach, up her ribs, squeezing her breasts and smoothing up and down her legs, sent her into a frenzy. She wanted to feel his skin on hers, all of it. Her hands flew up to the buttons on his shirt and she deftly undid every button in a matter of seconds. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders, moaning softly as his beautifully toned body came to rest back against hers, her nerves on fire as the heat of his skin seared her own.

Fred's mind had taken a long and lazy stroll the minute she'd devested him of his shirt and pulled his body back onto hers. The softness of her skin along his own had momentarily short circuited his brain, his breath coming in ragged pants. His kissed down her neck and along her shoulders, sucking at the dip in her collar bone and smiling as she mewled at him. His hands slipped underneath her, unhooking her bra and gently pulling it off her.

Hermione stilled underneath him, trying not to freak out. She was thrumming all over and while she vividly remembered Fred's hands all over her naked breasts, she knew his eyes had yet to get so acquainted. She chewed on her lip and smiled as he came back to kiss her properly, gasping as Fred's body pressed against her completely naked torso. There was nothing like it and she felt so perfect in that second that she almost didn't want to ever move again.

Fred felt Hermione melt into his embrace again. He'd known that she would need time to adjust to every new sensation as they came across it, and he was more than happy to let her take it. Her skin flush with his own was probably the best thing he'd ever felt in his life. He kissed her softly again and pressed hot kisses all across her neck and chest, getting lower and lower. Her breathing was getting faster and faster again, his wasn't doing much better as he looked down at her bare breasts, never having seen anything so exquisite in all his life. He groaned happily, his cock thrumming in his pants as he kissed one nipple and then the other, palming each breast softly as he looked up at Hermione. Her mouth was parted, her eyes wide and he could tell from the small tremor that had rippled down her body, that it felt good. He grinned as she part-gasped and part-groaned when he swirled his tongue over one nipple and gently rubbed the other with his fingers. Her body bucked underneath him as she whined, her hands on his head, fingers raking through and fisting in his hair.

Fred continued to torment her breasts for several more minutes before Hermione had decided enough was enough. She pulled him up from her chest and crashed her lips into his, grabbing his arse and grinding herself into him, feeling his rock-hard length through his trousers.

Fred was taken completely by surprise at her new found fervour and rather brazen attempt at taking control. He nearly choked when she wound a hand in between the two of them and began palming him through the fabric of his clothing. Fred shivered and clamped a hand around her wrist, pulling her away.

"Love, I'm going to lose it far too quickly if you keep that up," he muttered, smashing his lips back into hers and kissing her thoroughly again. He pushed his hips into hers, teasing her and chuckled when she whined at him again.

"Fred..." She whimpered, kissing his face and trailing her delicate little fingers across his back and shoulders.

"I'm getting there," he said, smiling as kissed her. "Just be patient."

Hermione huffed but kissed him back and Fred found himself falling more in love with her than he thought was possible. He just managed to bite back the words, not sure why he didn't want to say them. Now was definitely the perfect time. Hermione wriggled impatiently underneath him so he chose not to think about it and instead think about her.

He set a hand on her knee and smoothed his palm up her thigh, squeezing softly as he went. He ran his fingers across the front of her knickers and smiled as she muttered something about being teased. Fred slipped his fingers under the cotton and circled her clit, sucking on a nipple as he did. Hermione cried out and he felt the sound of it slip down his spine and settle into his bones. He was never going to get enough of her, no matter how much he tried.

Hermione's head dropped back as her eyes rolled. She'd never felt anything like it. She was so relaxed and yet so turned on all at the same time. It was the best she'd ever been. Fred continued to play with her, licking her nipple and dipping a finger or two inside of her. She rocked against his fingers, wanting more. Wanting to feel a different part of him inside her. With the confidence he'd steadily been instilling in her, she reached for the fastening at the front of his trousers and fumbled with the button and the zip.

Again caught off guard by how sure Hermione was, Fred groaned and pulled back slightly. He tugged at Hermione's skirt impatiently, starting to lose his cool as she managed to free him from the confines of his trousers. He kicked his shoes off with them, pulling her skirt and knickers off her legs. In no time at all, both of them were completely naked, a little shocked at how quickly that had escalated.

Fred, perched on his hands and knees just above her, stared at the woman beneath him in absolute awe. She was more beautiful than he could have imagined. She was just so perfect to him, he couldn't peel his eyes away from her. Every curve, every dip, every wonderful slope of her body just made him hotter and harder, and made all the feelings he had for her burn brighter than ever before. He could honestly say in that moment that he knew he'd never made love, but it's exactly what he was doing right now with Hermione. It was something of a first for him too.

Hermione blushed as his eyes raked over her body. She'd never had anyone look at her like that before. Like she was everything. Like she was needed the way a person needs to breathe. Her eyes dropped from his face to his body, the hard planes of muscle glistening with sweat. She travelled down, her gaze roaming over his toned stomach and following the line of hair that started just below his belly button.

Fred lips twitched as he watched her take in the size of him. He wasn't large, at least not any larger than average. But for someone who'd never done any of this before, he knew it must look daunting. He about came undone when he watched her swallow and then tentatively reach her hand out towards him, wrapping her fingers around his cock.

"Fucking hell love," he muttered, his breathing now ragged as he felt her gently tug up and then push back down again. He leant forwards a little, resting his forehead on hers.

Hermione cleared her throat after a second or two. "So, how does this work?" she whispered, feeling more than a little nervous now.

Fred gently pulled out of her reach and settled his body back between her legs, much like how they'd started when they had their clothes on. His body was flush against hers as he stared lovingly down at her, his fingers brushing through the edges of her hair.

"Well," he said, "it works whichever way you want it to. We can just kiss lots and have naked cuddles if you want...or we can put all our clothes back on-"

"Fred," Hermione said, her tone less whispy and with a bit of a bite in it. She ran her fingers through his hair too and stared up at him with her eyebrows raised. "If I go back to the common room still a virgin tonight, after all of this, you will be going back single."

Fred smirked at her and chuckled softly, shaking his head. He kissed her quickly and looked down at her. "You don't mean that."

Hermione stared up at him, crossing her arms behind his neck. "Don't I?"

He laughed and peppered kisses down her neck and across her face. "No, you don't. But I get your point, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "Thank you."

"I just want you to know you can back out at any time-"

"I know I can," she cut him off. "But I'm not."

He huffed in amusement and rolled his eyes.

"So, how does this work?" she asked a second time, her voice a little less sure again.

Fred stared down at her for a long moment before slowly leaning in and pressing a kiss to her lips. He kissed her long and slow and like he meant it, which he most certainly did.

"Well," he said softly, pulling back ever so slightly from her, "it's probably easier to show you how it works than explain it..."

Hermione nodded, becoming acutely aware of his stiffness pressed against her inner thigh. She was surprised to find that it seemed to turn her on as much as it did terrify her.

"I know it's going to hurt," she murmured.

Fred nodded, a pained look on his face. "I'll be as gentle as I can love."

She smiled and nodded again, kissing softly across his face. "I know."

"I'm just going to check that you're ready enough," he murmured, reaching down between them and brushing his fingers against her clit as he slipped them beneath her folds and curled them into her. Her body trembled and she moaned, making it hard for Fred to control himself. He was shaking with desire and feeling how wet she was for him had only made it worse.

"You ready?" he whispered, pulling his fingers out and shuffling slightly so he could line himself up with her.

Hermione nodded, instinctively bending her knees and angling herself towards him. She felt the air leave her lungs as he slowly entered her, his lips finding hers and his arms wrapping around her the deeper he went. She broke the kiss and hissed, pushing her forehead against his as he thrust past her hymen, breaking it quickly and taking her virginity. She breathed through the stinging pain slowly, her arms wrapped tightly around Fred's neck as he stayed as still as he could.

"You okay?" he murmured.

Hermione nodded gently, letting out a trembling breath. "Yeah...I think I'm okay."

Fred kissed her jaw and her cheek, gripping her hip with one hand. "Mi, I'm going to move now. If it hurts too much, we'll stop, okay?"

Hermione nodded, her eyes stinging with tears. She was so embarrassed, she felt so stupid. She knew it was going to hurt, she was prepared for it to hurt, but she hadn't thought about what would happen after it hurt. She sort of expected it to be like an injection; a short sharp sting and then you don't feel anything.

Fred kissed away the single tear that fell down the side of her face, his heart drumming in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to make her feel good again, he _had_ to make her feel good again. He wanted her to have an amazing experience, she deserved that much.

Slowly he pulled out of her and then pushed back in, kissing her lips as he moved. He concentrated on her mouth, trying to get her to relax again, feeling how tense she was beneath him. It didn't take long before he got a moan out of her, and he smiled in relief as he continued to kiss her. He started moving a little faster, thrusting a little harder but still gently enough that he wouldn't hurt her. Hermione gasped as the sting subsided and gave way to waves of pleasure that rolled through her body and made her quiver all over.

"Oh my god...Fred..." she moaned, gripping his shoulders as he pushed into her again.

Fred trailed kisses all down her neck and across her chest, leaning away just enough to palm her breast and roll her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Hermione bucked beneath him, moaning again. He dipped his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue across it as he let it go. Hermione rocked against him, gripping tight to his shoulders and then sliding her hands down his back to squeeze his arse. She pushed him into her further, wriggling to get closer still, her mind totally overcome with the erotic sensations travelling through her, the pain she'd felt completely forgotten in lieu of the mind-numbing pleasure that pulsated through her.

Fred took that as his cue to speed up a bit and pumped harder into her, crashing his lips against hers as he pushed back inside of her. He could feel her walls fluttering around his cock as he steadily built her pleasure up and up. Panting, he broke their kiss and knelt back a little, holding her waist and pushing her further onto him. He licked his thumb and flicked her clit, rubbing circles around it as he kept up his relentless rhythm, one hand gripping her hip as he continued to drive in and out.

Hermione couldn't help the sounds that poured from her mouth. The orgasm he'd given her just yesterday pailed in comparison to the one he was building in her today. She moaned and whined and whimpered as he kept up the pace he'd set, not too slow but desperately steady. Hermione could feel her toes curling, her blood pounded in her ears. Her hands were thrown behind her head, pushing against the arm of the sofa so she could feel him as far inside her as possible. She groaned as she felt that coil begin to build up again, but so much bigger than yesterday. She reached forward with one hand and began to play with her nipple, squeezing and flicking as Fred moved.

"Fucking hell love..." Fred whimpered, looking greedily at her and as though he was likely to burst any minute.

Hermione chewed her lip as she looked at him, her eyes locked on his as he rocked backwards and forwards against her, in and out, over and over. That coil was tightening even further, it was about ready to snap.

"Fred...I'm going to...I think..." She moaned, unable to get the words out.

"I'm right behind you love, just let go," he said, rubbing her clit as he leant forward and sucked on her nipple.

Hermione came undone almost immediately. Her body jerked and twitched as the tension snapped, a wave of euphoria flooding through her, warmth rippling across her very bones. Fred's lips found hers as she rode out the high, thrusting into her twice more before he shuddered to a stop, panting heavily and kissing her for all she was worth.

"Fucking hell..." he muttered, his breath still ragged as he buried his face in her neck.

Hermione didn't know what to say or do. She was trembling with delight, her body felt amazing and Fred felt amazing and it was possibly the greatest thing she'd ever experienced.

Her mind kicked back into play about two seconds later and she suddenly gasped, a hand flying up to her face and a look of horror stealing across her features.

"Oh shit!" she cried, feeling like she could cry.

"What?!" Fred asked, quickly disentangling them and sitting up to hold her. "What's the matter? Did I hurt you? What's happened? Are you okay?"

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I'm so sorry Fred..." she murmured.

"About _what_...?!" He was starting to panic now.

"I just didn't think!" she snapped to herself.

"Hermione, love, will you please tell me what's going on in that big beautiful brain of yours?" he pleaded.

"Protection. We didn't use protection," she said softly, her eyes glistening with tears.

Fred let out a huge sigh of relief. "Bloody hell, love, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He waved his wand and cleared up the mess they'd made before conjuring a blanket and wrapping it around their shoulders, snuggling her into him and lying them back down on the sofa.

Fred kissed her temple and explained his lack of worry. "I cast the contraceptive charm before we got going," he said. "I figured you wouldn't mind since you wanted to lose it in the moment, and asking you if I could do it wasn't exactly an in the moment kind of thing..."

Hermione's whole body sagged in relief. "I'm sorry, my brain just restarted," she said, once again feeling stupidly embarrassed.

Fred chuckled and shook his head, kissing her softly. "It's not a bad thing. I should have told you I'd done it, I'm sorry."

Hermione shook her head this time. "No, I'm just relieved we're safe. I didn't really want to have to skulk my way up to the hospital wing to ask for a potion," she grimaced.

Fred laughed. "Would have added to our evidence though," he teased.

Hermione giggled, snuggling further into him. "I suppose it would," she said. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry..."

"It's okay love, it's natural to be tired afterwards, what with all the energy we spent." He grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I wish we could stay here all night," she sighed. "I wish I could just stay naked and wrapped up in you forever."

Fred groaned, shifting so he was lying on top of her again. "Me too," he muttered, his lips swiftly back on hers.

Hermione hummed as he kissed her again, reigniting the fire that burned in her moments before. She moaned as his hands slid up and down her body, the warmth of his palm as it smoothed across her skin making her body shiver and shake.

Fred pulled back before they got too hot and heavy again, peppering a few light kisses across her face. He laughed when Hermione whined at him, clearly wound up enough as it was.

"Love, you've just lost your virginity," he said gently. "If we go for round 2 right now, it's going to make you really sore and I don't think that's a good idea..."

Hermione huffed at him again and pouted. "Fine," she muttered. "...but there's definitely a round 2? You promise?" She smirked cheekily at him and he growled, snatching her bottom lip between his and giving it a gentle tug.

"Hermione," he said, his voice low and sincere, "that was so good that I can promise you there will be as many rounds as you want, for as long as you want."

"Really?" Hermione frowned, tilting her head back a bit to look up at him.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" he asked, having a fairly good idea but asking anyway.

Hermione shrugged and chewed on her lip as she tried to think of how best to explain. "Well, I suppose I just thought that since you've been with a lot of other people...I don't know...I just...I wasn't expecting to land at the top of your list, with all my inexperience. At least not yet. I guess I just figured it would take me a while, which I was fine with, by the way..."

"Hermione," Fred sighed and leant his forehead against hers.

"No, but really," she said, idly smoothing her fingers over the solid muscles in his shoulders. "You know I don't have a problem with your past experiences - I won't call it your dating history since I know you never really dated them properly - but even so, I'd sort of expected to not be any good at sex. Not really. It's got nothing to do with how I see myself or how I think _you_ see me...I just know you've already done this before-"

"Hermione, love, I can assure you I've never done this before in my life," he said quickly, opening his eyes to see her confused face.

"But you said-"

"I've had sex before, sure. And yeah, I've had a lot of it. But...what we just did? That wasn't just sex." He looked deep into her eyes, willing her to get what he meant, wanting so badly to just say it but finding his tongue tied up in knots the minute he opened his mouth.

"So...I'm the first girl you've actually meant it with?" Hermione asked tentatively, looking up at him in awe.

Fred nodded. "You're the first girl I've really felt it with." His eyes darted between hers and he felt oddly and embarrassingly vulnerable in that moment.

Hermione smiled softly up at him, her hands coming up to run through his hair as she pulled his face back down to hers. "I promise I'll try not to break you Fred..." she murmured, her lips so close they were touching his.

Fred gave a hoarse little chuckle and ran his nose down the length of hers. "Love, I'm pretty sure you already have," he whispered, sealing her lips with a kiss. "How about you just promise not to break this part of me?" he suggested, placing her hand flat against his chest, right over his beating heart.

Hermione looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyes as she nodded at him. "I promise..." she whispered. "I promise with all that part of _me_."

Fred kissed her again and Hermione could barely breathe with the weight of it. He kissed her so softly it hurt, so deeply it burned and so completely that it felt like he'd been seared onto her soul.

After another heated snog session, Fred begrudgingly untangled himself from Hermione and set about trying to find all their clothes. Hermione blushed a brilliant red as he handed her a pair of knickers and a bra. He kissed her quickly as she shuffled into them, not really helping in anyway other than to put her at ease.

Once they were dressed, Fred continued on with the next steps to several of the different potions, adding stasis charms on all of them again after letting each one brew for a good ten minutes. Finally it was time for the pair of them to leave and head back to Gryffindor tower.

.

Hermione was buzzing as she took Fred's hand, feeling like everything had changed and yet knowing that no one else would feel it but her and Fred. There was something about having such a perfect secret that made her eyes twinkle and the smile on her face look a little goofy. Fred wasn't doing much better, just about managing to get them back to the common room without being caught. Just.

It was so late by the time they crawled back through the portrait hole that almost no one was up. George was still awake, cuddled lazily up to Angelina in front of the fireplace. Lee was with him, his nose buried in a book, and so was Katie. Alicia seemed to have left them all to it, Ron and Harry were nowhere to be seen and Ginny was asleep on an armchair.

"How goes it?" George murmured quietly, his head in Angelina's lap.

"Pretty good," Fred said, dropping into the other armchair and pulling Hermione with him. "Same as usual, really."

"I take it you managed to find something to entertain yourselves with?" George snickered, wiggling his eyebrows at the two of them and grinning.

Hermione turned beat red but stammered out a response all the same. "Something like that, yeah."

"What d'you do? Play cards or I Spy or something?" Katie snarked, smirking nastily at Hermione.

Hermione had no idea what possessed her to say it. None at all. And yet, it seemed to fly out of her mouth without hesitation. "No. We had sex on the sofa."

Fred choked on air from behind her as Katie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," she huffed, clearly not believing Hermione one little bit.

George looked at his brother and then back at the ever-surprising bookworm. "Mione, either you're being completely serious or my brother has a major medical problem," George said, tipping his head at Fred, who seemed to be struggling for words.

Hermione part-grimaced and part-winced at George, shrugging and biting her lip as she looked over her shoulder at Fred.

Fred stared back at her with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "I'm not sure how you want me to answer that..." he mumbled.

Hermione shrugged again. "Bit late now, sorry. It sort of just came out..."

Fred looked at her scrunched up face, no trace of guilt or shame in her eyes. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and gave him a barely-sincere apologetic stare while she waited for him to say something. His lips twitched and a snort escaped as he tried not to laugh. He pulled her face towards his, planting a quick kiss on her lips before wrapping an arm around her waist and curling her into him, her legs across his lap and his hand on her knee.

"So no major medical problems then?" George sniggered, waggling his eyebrows at them again.

"None that I could find George," Hermione laughed. The confidence Fred had instilled in her mere hours ago hadn't seemed to diminish in the slightest. She found herself quite liking it, and hoping it wasn't something that would fade.

"I don't believe you," Katie said, staring at them in shock.

Fred shrugged this time. "Okay," he said.

"No, but seriously," Katie said, almost starting to sound a little panicked. "I don't believe you. You wouldn't have. You couldn't have..."

"Why?" Fred asked, frowning at her.

"Because...because..." Katie stammered. "Because she's Hermione Granger! She's a prude!" Katie cried, flinging her arms out in frustration.

Ginny snorted, having stirred awake to Katie's protestations. "Granger is anything but a prude," she said, shuffling around on the armchair to get comfy again, her eyes still looking heavy.

"Oh really?" Katie scoffed. "So she'd have sex with your brother on a sofa in an empty classroom...?" Her voice was getting almost hysterical.

Ginny sniggered. "I reckon she'd do it with Fred just about anywhere," she said, yawning and letting her head drop back against the armrest. Hermione blushed, knowing the red-head was probably right.

"But..." Katie's mouth opened and closed a few times, like she was grasping for reasons that it couldn't be true. "But..."

"Kates, you were the one that brought it up," George said, raising an eyebrow at her. "If you didn't want to know, you shouldn't have asked."

"I didn't ask that!" Katie cried, scrunching her face up as she gestured to Fred and Hermione, clearly having almost pictured it.

"To be fair George, she _didn't_ ask that," Hermione said, her own nose wrinkling up as she felt a twinge of guilt flicker briefly. She was surprised to see Katie looking at her a little appreciatively.

"Urgh," Katie said, shaking her head and shivering. "Why would you share that?"

Hermione shrugged. "Because you were winding me up," she said honestly.

Katie huffed. "How was I winding you up? Are you sure you're not just being overly sensitive?"

Hermione scoffed. "You've got to be kidding me?" She levelled her gaze at Katie and folded her arms. "Even Ron, as oblivious as he is, can tell you've been in a hump for about as long as me and Fred have been together. So no, I don't think I'm being overly sensitive. I think I'm being tired and fed up, which means my tongue gets a little loose."

Katie scowled at her and sat back on her sofa. "If you'd just been honest from the start-"

"Oh don't start that again," Ginny muttered sleepily. "You sound like a broken bloody record." She begrudgingly opened her eyes to glare at Katie Bell, the awful woman who was disturbing her slumber.

"Well it's true, isn't it?!" Katie growled at her.

"No," Ginny said, yawning irritably. "They said they were sorry and they fucking meant it. If you don't want to accept it, that's fine. No one is making you."

"Maybe sorry isn't good enough," Katie said, starting to sniffle a little bit. "Maybe it hurts too much."

Ginny shrugged. "So it hurts too much. So sorry isn't good enough. Then don't be friends."

"What?" Katie stuttered.

"I said, so don't be friends. I mean, what other option is there. You can't truly be friends with someone you can't forgive, can you?" Ginny said, as though it was really that simple, which it was. "And if it's a case of needing time to forgive, you don't then set about bringing it up every opportunity you get, do you? You put it to rest and learn to let it go..."

Katie huffed out an incoherent response.

"Besides," Ginny muttered, "It's not like you've got a problem with Fred, is it? And he's the friend that lied to you!"

"Because of Hermione!" Katie cried, flinging her arm out at the girl again.

"The only person that has ever been able to make Fred do something he doesn't want to, is my mother," Ginny replied coolly.

"That may be, but she's still changed him," Katie snapped, folding her arms.

"Of course she fucking has!" Ginny hissed, growing more and more frustrated. "If you hadn't noticed, he's changed her too! Last time I checked, Hermione Granger wasn't the sort of girl who snuck out after hours to go shag her boyfriend!"

Hermione gaped at Ginny, as did Katie and Angelina. George, Fred and Lee all seemed familiar with the littlest Weasley's fiery attitude and were just happy it wasn't directed at them.

"So what? We're just supposed to live with it? Huh? Losing our friends to a relationship?" Katie snarked.

"Yes!" Ginny nodded emphatically, truly done with the woman. "Because, again, if you hadn't noticed, they make each other happy and they're the best version of themselves since they've been together. You get to be all _concerned-friend_ when Fred's miserable as sin, which he's not." Ginny glared at Katie, her eyes narrowing. "You don't get to be _jealous-bitch_ at all, so for fuck's sake, pack it in! If I have to listen to one more snarky comment about Mione or hear you whine about how hurt you are, heads are going to roll. Specifically, yours."

"But..." Katie stammered, not really sure she wanted to argue with Ginny.

"Look, I'm not trying to tell you that your emotions are invalid. I get that it hurts, but at least be honest about _why_ it hurts," Ginny said with a sigh. "You like Fred-"

" _Liked_ ," Katie grumbled, her face growing red.

"If that's the case, then act like it," Ginny said. "If you don't like him like that anymore, then let it the fuck go or just don't be friends anymore."

Katie took a deep breath and huffed, grumbling something under her breath.

"What was that?" Ginny asked, holding her hand to her ear and tipping her head pointedly.

"I said fucking fine! Okay?!" Katie snapped, glaring at Ginny. "Merlin, you're a bitch when you want to be!"

"Hey!" Both Fred and George barked, Fred shooting forwards on his seat with Hermione still in his lap and George abruptly sitting up and leaning forwards.

"Oh can-it you two," Ginny muttered, standing up and stretching. "She's right, I can be a bitch when I want to be. But, to be fair, I wasn't actually being a bitch tonight. You were," she said to Katie. "I was just calling you on it."

Katie grumbled something else and scowled at Ginny when she did the ear thing again. Ginny snorted and shook her head, saying goodnight to everyone before stalking off up the stairs and to bed.

George lay back down on Angelina's lap while Katie continued to mutter to herself underneath her breath. Hermione turned to Fred as he sunk back in the armchair.

"I think I'm going to head up to bed too, you know," she said with a small sigh and a yawn.

Fred pouted at her. "Really?"

Hermione sniggered and nodded. "Yes really." She leant forwards and gave him a soft kiss before removing herself from his lap. "I'll see you in the morning," she said, blowing him another kiss. She turned to the rest of the group and waved at them. "Night guys..."

They all mumbled their own tired goodbyes as Hermione made her way to the stairs. Before she'd even set foot on the bottom step, a hand was around her wrist, gently twisting her around.

Fred's lips were on hers in an instant and he swallowed her surprised little squeak. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she held him tight, her lips moving effortlessly in time with his. She smiled as he slowly released her.

"I just wanted to say a proper goodnight," he murmured, his breath mingling with her own.

"Consider it said." Hermione pecked him on the lips again and smoothed her hands over his cheeks, looking into his sparkling blue eyes. "Goodnight Fred."

"Night love," he said, begrudgingly letting her go. "See you tomorrow."

Hermione blew him a kiss as she ran up the stairs.

Fred turned and went to walk back to the fireside, bumping into Katie as he did.

"Night Katie," Fred said as she went.

"Night Fred," Katie called back, ascending the staircase.

.

He dropped into the armchair and sighed.

"So, big night for you then," George sniggered.

Fred scowled at George, his eyes flicking up to Angelina.

"She's okay, she won't tell," George said, his hand winding his way around the back of her neck and pulling her lips down to meet his for a quick kiss.

"That's not really the point, is it?" Fred muttered.

"He's right George," Angie said, smiling down at him as she ran her fingers through his hair. "It's not fair on Hermione. She might be comfortable with how much you share between yourselves, but that doesn't mean she'll be okay with you sharing that much with me."

"Mione's nothing but logical. And she wouldn't expect me to keep secrets from you, nor would she want me to," George said. "Urgo, it probably won't come as that much of a shock that you know some stuff."

Angie laughed and shook her head. "There's knowing some stuff and then there's having intimate knowledge about what she got up to..."

George rolled his eyes. "I wasn't asking for details," he said with a snort. "I just know it was her first time."

Angelina's whole face just dropped in shock. She looked up and gaped at Fred who groaned and rubbed his hands over his face, wanting nothing more than to smack his brother.

"George..." he growled softly.

"Is that true? She just lost her virginity? And to you?" Angie asked incredulously.

"What does _and to you_ mean Ange?" Fred huffed, folding his arms and staring irritably at her.

"Well, you are a bit of a git," she said with an unapologetic shrug. George snorted and Fred's lips twitched in amusement.

"I'm not that bad," he said, smiling at her.

Angie chuckled and shook her head. "I can't believe she just came out with it though. Her first time and she just casually dropped in that you'd been shagging to wile the hours away."

Fred scoffed. "She's not as timid as she looks."

"She insinuated you'd been shagging to the most heinous professor in this place," Angie said, smirking at him. "I sort of got that."

"I think she's a bit like Ginny," George mused. "She'll stay quiet for so long and then she just snaps. Sort of says whatever she's thinking instead of filtering her thoughts."

Angelina hummed. "I suppose she is a little bit," she said. "But she doesn't have that brash confidence that Ginny does..."

"That probably comes from being a muggleborn," Fred said softly, both Angelina and George's eyes darting quickly to his. Fred shrugged and looked over at them both. "Well, think about it. Ginny's lived in this world all her life. No matter what she says or does, she'll always be a part of it." He sighed and cleared his throat, feeling oddly emotional. "Hermione is so far ahead of her whole school year, not just because she's brilliant and she loves to learn, but because she doesn't want to be left behind by people who've grown up with magic all around them. She doesn't want to give anyone an excuse not to take her seriously. She's been watching everything she says and does since she started school because she's muggleborn and she doesn't want to risk being expelled or excluded from the wizarding world."

"So what changed this year?" Angelina asked quietly. "What made her stop caring?"

"Nothing made her stop caring, that's the problem," Fred said, shaking his head. "Umbridge just..."

"She made it clear that no matter what Mione does, it won't be enough," George murmured, understanding what Fred was trying to say. "She will always be muggleborn and that's all Umbridge will ever see. So what's the point in trying if it won't make a difference."

"Exactly," Fred said, nodding softly. "Exactly..."

Angelina frowned. "But she's just one person. Not everyone thinks like that."

"No, but she's the Ministry. She's the embodiment of everything they stand for right now," George said. "And what with you-know-who being back and all..."

Angelina let out a heavy breath.

" _We_ can survive under that sort of rule. We'd be miserable and hate every minute of it, but we could slog our way through it and make it out the other side," Fred said, looking painfully at the two of them. "Hermione?" He shook his head and blew out a puff of air. "They'd be after her if she stayed in this world. But she won't hide like any normal witch, oh no. She'll put herself in the line of fucking fire..." He sighed and slouched down in his seat, rubbing his hands down his face.

"Well, good for her I say." Angelina folded her arms and gave Fred a long look. "I think I'll stand right next to her."

Fred looked at her with wide eyes, his brother looking up at her with same sort of dumbstruck expression.

Angelina scoffed. "What? You think the rest of us are just going to sit back and let it happen? I don't want to live in a world where tyranny rules. I'm not going to run away and hide or expect people to fight my battles for me."

"Ange..." George said softly.

"Don't _Ange_ me," she said, her tone soft but firm. "She's right. There is a war coming. And you can get stuffed if you think I'm going to sit back, wait for an outcome and just live with it."

George muttered something and sighed, looking up at his girlfriend. "I was kind of hoping I wasn't going to suffer the same fate as my lovely twin. I sort of assumed that you'd be nice and safe so I wouldn't have to worry about you."

Angelina raised one long eyebrow and stared down at him, evidently unimpressed.

"I thought wrong, didn't I?" he sighed.

"Yes George. You did," Angie said, a tone of finality in her voice as she gazed down at him. "I'm wondering why in the hell you thought you could leave _me_ worrying about _you_ , as though that would be perfectly fine and not completely sexist?"

"That wasn't what I meant," he mumbled, looking a bit frustrated.

"Well I doubt you could explain what you meant without digging yourself into a deeper hole," Angie snarked.

George scowled. Not at Angelina, more at himself really. He couldn't argue with her on that.

Fred snorted and shook his head. "At least you know how I feel now, Georgie," he snickered.

George gave him the finger and refused to look at him. Instead, he looked up at Angelina and did something stupid. Namely, digging his hole a little bit deeper. "It's just that, I don't know how I'd be able to fight, knowing you're fighting too...I'd just want to protect you from everything. I'd be so distracted-"

Angelina growled. "At what point did you deduce that I'd need your protection?"

George huffed. "I am your boyfriend. It's my job to protect you."

Fred winced, loudly. George looked over at him with a frown.

"I had the same argument," Fred said. "I lost it. Badly."

Angelina, while still wholey annoyed with George, snorted and looked up at Fred, her eyes filled with mirth.

"Something about how I'm supposed to protect her from stuff like getting her heart broken, not choose how much she can take or from who. Or fight her battles for her. Or step in when I think she's going to get hurt," Fred said, remembering their heated discussion with painful clarity.

Angelina smiled and nodded, looking back down at George again. "What she said."

George huffed and folded his arms like a petulant child. "I don't like it."

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to," Fred said. "But then, if you can ask her not to fight, she can ask you. And would you?"

"Would I what? Not fight?" George asked, frowning at Fred as he nodded. "I don't know if I could _not_ fight. I know I don't _want_ to but...I'm not sure I could walk away from it. I think I'd feel like I had to. Like it was my fight."

Fred gave his brother a forlorn sort of look. "What makes you think it's any different for Angie?"

George groaned and looked up at his girlfriend. She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a look which told him that basically Fred was right. He sighed and nodded, begrudgingly admitting that he got it, he understood.

"Hermione said, her heart tells her that she can't sit back and expect someone else to make the changes she wants to see," Fred said softly.

"She's right," Angie said, looking from one brother to the other. "And they're changes I want to see too. So I'm standing beside her, whether you like it or not."

George sighed deeply. "Fine! The four of us together then. Like some sort of terrible double date."

Angie chuckled quietly. "I love you," she said, her fingers slipping back into his hair.

"I love you too," he mumbled, his cheeks growing red as he flicked his gaze towards Fred who was snickering at him.

Angie smirked at her boyfriend's twin and raised her eyebrows. "At least your brother has the guts to tell his girlfriend how he really feels."

Fred gaped at her. "I do have the guts! It's just...not the right time."

"So when is?" Angie scoffed. "After you've fucked off on your little joke shop adventure?"

Fred smirked at George. "So you told her then."

"Fuck off," George grumbled. "You made a few good points."

Angie hummed in agreement. "It seems one Hermione Granger is rubbing off on you a little bit too," she laughed.

Fred shrugged before shooting her a wink and a wicked little grin. "Maybe."

Angie screwed her face up in disgust. "Urgh! Fred! That's not what I meant!"

Fred laughed. "I know."

Angie shook her head and nudged George to get him off her. "On that note, I'm going to go up to bed."

George glared at Fred. "Thanks mate."

"I was going anyway," Angie sighed. "Don't blame him. Besides, you got yourself in enough trouble this evening without any help. You're lucky I didn't walk off earlier."

George sighed and nodded, standing up and helping her to her feet. He gave her a heated kiss while Fred twiddled his thumbs and looked about the common room, waving at Angelina as she finally managed to get away from George and up the stairs.

.

Hermione was lying in bed chewing her lip as she tossed and turned. She couldn't sleep. Her mind kept replaying her time with Fred that evening, how he made her feel, how amazing it all was, how she wanted to do it again and soon. She also couldn't keep her mind off Katie and she hated that such special memories were now running alongside something the stupid girl had said.

Katie had caught Hermione on her way to bed. _"I just need you to know Hermione. I'm going to pretend to be fine with you. I'm going to pretend to like you and support your relationship with Fred but, it's all going to be an act. And when the opportunity arises, and it will, I'll do everything I can to get him back. So, make the most of him while you have the chance, because eventually, he'll be mine again, and we'll be laughing over the blip that was you."_

Hermione had to admit that it had stung. She wasn't worried in the slightest about Fred or anything Katie might do to get him back. If anything, she was more likely to end their friendship than she was to come between them. But she hated knowing that she'd be the only one that saw through what was bound to be the old-Katie getting over it and coming back to the group.

A soft knock at the dormitory door made her frown and pushed all her thoughts aside. She quickly padded her way over and opened it, seeing Angelina standing outside it, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Everything okay?" Hermione whispered.

Angie nodded. "Can we talk?"

"Now?" Hermione frowned but nodded nonetheless and gestured for her to come in. Both girls padded back to Hermione's four poster. She drew the curtains and cast a silencing charm, looking up at Angelina when she was done.

"I just wanted to check you were okay?" Angie said, staring gingerly at Hermione.

Hermione's frown deepened, her confusion evident. "Okay with what?"

"Uh, well...George sort of dropped you in it, so to speak," she said, her words calm but a little hesitant. "He said it was your first time. That you hadn't had sex before tonight and-"

Hermione groaned, flopping back on her bed and throwing her arms over her eyes. Her cheeks were a brilliant red, not that anyone could see that since the only light came from the faint lumos of Hermione's wand. "I hate your boyfriend."

Angelina chuckled. "Me too sometimes," she said. "But, I just thought, well I suppose I just thought that...I remember feeling like it was a big deal when I lost mine. And I had Katie and Alicia to talk to. But your best friends are both boys, and boys are really pretty stupid when it comes to stuff like this. And your closest girl-friend seems to be Ginny, who's Fred's little sister so that's a no go. And then you're left with tweedle-dumb and tweedle-dee," she said, pointing to the general area that Lavender and Parvarti were sleeping soundly. "The gossip queens of Gryffindor tower."

Hermione tentatively took her arm off her eyes and looked up at Angelina. She had the most sincere smile on her face and Hermione instantly felt herself relax.

Angelina gave her a half shrug. "I just wanted to say, if you want to talk, about anything, I'm here."

Hermione nodded, sitting up again and crossing her legs. "I never really had many friends that were girls before Hogwarts." She scrunched her face up. "To be honest, I never really had many friends..."

Angie fiddled with her fingers and looked across at Hermione. "Me neither," she said, totally shocking the younger girl.

"Really?" Hermione said, unable to comprehend that the gorgeous woman in front of her was ever friendless.

"Really," Angie chuckled. "I was a bit of an ugly duckling, to be honest. You should've seen me in my first year!"

Hermione giggled, shaking her head. "You know, I had the worst buck teeth not that long ago. And then Malfoy hexed me and made them grow to enormous lengths, so I went to Madam Pomfrey to get them fixed and just let her shrink them a bit more than I should have."

Angelina laughed with her. "Merlin, Malfoy is a right little asshole. But at least he was good for something."

Hermione nodded.

"So, your first time..." Angelina said, glancing up at Hermione to find her cheeks had coloured again. "How'd you feel?"

Hermione chewed on her lip and sighed, the words rushing out of her as though the floodgates had been opened. "Like everything has changed and nothing has, all at once."

Angelina nodded and smiled. "I remember thinking the same thing. It was kind of exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time."

"Fred was so good, too," Hermione rambled, then suddenly realising what she'd said, she slapped a hand over her mouth and looked at Angie with wide eyes. "I don't mean like that, well, I do mean like that because he was good. He was more than good actually, he was fucking fantastic-"

Angie cut her off with a loud laugh, unable to contain her amusement.

Hermione groaned and gave her a wry smile. "I meant he was good with me. He was really sweet and really patient."

Angie grinned, still giggling somewhat. "I get it," she said. "George was pretty good with me, too."

"You lost yours to George?" Hermione said, a little shocked. "But, I thought you guys only got together at the beginning of this year? Didn't Fred take you to the yule ball?"

Angie nodded, smiling as she regailed Hermione with the tale. "I wanted to lose it to a friend, someone I was comfortable with and who I knew would look after me and care for me. I got drunk and apparently spilled my guts to George, who then gave me an offer I couldn't refuse when I was sober."

"So when did you and he...?" Hermione asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"I was your age. I was sixteen," she said. "And it was amazing," she sighed. "But after, nothing seemed to come from it and I don't know...I think because it was supposed to be no strings attached I just figured I should just move on. I didn't want to make our friendship awkward by pining after him, even though that one night kind of made me fall head over heels for him!" She huffed and rolled her eyes at herself. "So I started dating one of the ravenclaw guys and he continued to make his way through a sleu of women before Fred asked me to the yule ball, where he promptly told me that George was completely hung up on me and wouldn't stop pining over me."

Hermione laughed. "He seriously did that?"

"Yep," Angie said. "I didn't believe him, of course. I mean, to be fair, how could I? He'd shagged most of Hogwarts by then."

"So, how'd you end up together then?" Hermione asked.

Angie snorted. "Apparently, he grew some balls over the summer and asked me out as soon as we were back on the train."

Hermione laughed, smiling at Angie. "I'm glad. You make a brilliant couple."

Angie blushed a bit then, smiling back at her. "So do you and Fred."

Hermione shrugged. "We sort of fell into it, really. I kind of see why Katie has a hard time accepting it sometimes." She looked down and played with her fingertips. "I mean, I did kind of force him into an impossible situation."

Angie reached out and put her hand on Hermione's, stilling her movements. "Katie has a hard time accepting it because Fred is so obviously in love with you and she wants him to feel that way about her," Angie said softly. "She'll get over it eventually, when she's not a silly sixteen year old."

"But I'm a silly sixteen year old and I'd never tell someone I was going to be gunning for their boyfriend until the end of time," Hermione huffed, feeling frustrated by the whole thing.

"She didn't say that-"

"Actually, she sort of did. She cornered me when she came up to bed. She told me I should make the most of my time with Fred because eventually she'll get him back and they'll laugh about the time when I was a blip," Hermione said, staring at her hands. She took deep breath and sighed. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm not worried about her and Fred. I know Fred wouldn't ever hurt me like that. I just...it made me a bit sad was all, because all she's going to achieve is ruining her friendship with Fred."

"Isn't that what you want though? Or should want, I mean? Now she's said that to you..." Angie frowned at Hermione, waiting for her to look up and meet her eyes.

"No..." Hermione shook her head and looked up at Angie. "Not really. I mean, it'll kind of feel like karma but, I don't really want her to lose all her friends over it." She shrugged. "I know what it's like to have no friends and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"Who said she's going to lose all her friends?" Angie asked, her tone a bit hard.

Hermione sighed. "I'm not expecting anyone to fall out with her over this, honestly, it's not what I meant. I just...I see things logically, and over time, if she is insistent on trying to win Fred back, that's really the only logical conclusion."

"How?" Angie said, dropping her tone but still very confused.

"Well, because if she falls out with Fred for continuing to undermine our relationship, and therefore his feelings, she's going to fall out with George too, since a slight against one may as well be a slight against both," Hermione said.

Angie tipped her head in reluctant agreement.

"And then, it's only going to be so long before Lee gets fed up with her, and maybe you, since I'm assuming she's going to be equally down on both of them for falling out with her, and you're in love with George," Hermione explained, looking at Angie's face to see if she'd clocked that one right or not. Angie's expression told her she probably had.

"After you and Lee, that leaves Alicia and everyone else on the quidditch team," Hermione said, grimacing at Angie. "Two of them are my best mates, one is you and one is Fred and George's little sister. That leaves Andrew and Jack who she doesn't seem to like too much anyway."

Angelina sighed, understanding what Hermione meant. "Alicia would only put up with it for so long before she got fed up with being ostracized along with her. Especially once she worked out that Katie was basically doing it to herself."

"I don't want to see that happen," Hermione said. "I don't want to be the reason you're whole group falls out. You're all really good friends and I don't want to change that."

Angie shrugged and looked up at her. "But it wouldn't be your fault, Mione. If that's what actually happens, none of it would be your fault."

"I know," Hermione mumbled. "But, knowing something and feeling it are two completely different things."

Angie sighed. "If that's the route Katie wants to go down, no one is going to be able to stop her but herself. You just have to worry about you and Fred. Everything else will sort itself out. At least, that's the way I see it with George," she said.

Hermione smiled and nodded. "Yeah...that's not exactly as easy as it looks."

Angie chuckled. "You're telling me. I just nearly had a full on fight with George about where I'm going to be standing when this imminent war kicks off."

Hermione giggled. "I know. I had the same fight with Fred not that long ago."

"Yeah, he said," Angie laughed. "He told us he lost. Badly."

"So badly." Hermione grinned. She looked up at Angie, a curious twinkle in her eye. "So, where _do_ you want to be when it all goes down?"

Angie scoffed. "Standing next to you, of course."

Hermione's jaw dropped as she stared at the woman in front of her, all the breath having left her lungs.

Angie smiled somewhat shyly. "I know we're not proper friends yet-"

"I don't know," Hermione said softly, "I think I'd call you a friend after this conversation..."

Angie beamed at her. "Good, I would too." She shook her head and set her eyes back on Hermione's. "Anyway, I know we...haven't been friends for long..."

Hermione bobbed her head in approval.

"...but, I believe in all the same things you do. I stand for what you stand for. And, yeah, the outcome of the war won't affect me nearly as severely, but if I don't fight with you, with everyone like you...I'm not sure I could live with myself knowing I hadn't even tried..."

Hermione grinned, nodding her head. "I take it George wasn't too keen on the idea."

"Not really, no," she scoffed. "Something about not being able to fight properly because he'd always be worried about trying to protect me-"

"Protect you?!" Hermione barked indignantly. "Oh my god! What is it with those two?! Like you need protection. I bet you could out duel them any day of the week!"

"Exactly!" Angie cried, laughing.

"For fuck's sake! If they wanted damsels in distress, they really should have picked different women!" Hermione laughed too.

"Well, I think George realised he wasn't going to win unless he was willing to become single again."

"I believe Fred realised the same thing in the same way."

"In the end, George said the four of us should all go, like some sort of terrible double date," Angie chuckled.

Hermione smiled, her throat a little closed over and tears starting to sting the backs of her eyes. "I know we're laughing and all, but you honestly have no idea what that really means to me," she said with a croak.

Angie flung herself forwards and wrapped her arms around Hermione. "Mione, there's no way we'd ever let you have all the fun. We're a team. We have to be."

Hermione sniffed as she hugged Angie back. "Thanks," she mumbled, letting Angie go so she could sit back again.

"No, I really mean it. We have to be a team," Angie said, a wicked little twinkle in her eye. "We landed ourselves the Weasley twins. If we can't team up, we're fucking doomed."

Hermione laughed. "I'm pretty sure that if we team up they'll say _they're_ doomed."

Angie laughed too and nodded.

"So...in the interest of our new found friendship...Fred...how big was he?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows.

Hermione squeaked, trying not to laugh again and turning bright red. "I'm not telling you that!"

Angie grinned. "George is about this big," she said, holding her hands out to illustrate his length.

Hermione squealed, slapping her hands down and shaking her head, her eyes clamped shut. "I don't want to know! I don't want to know!" she laughed.

Angie fell back, holding her stomach and shaking with glee. It was a good job Hermione had silenced her bed since she was sure Angie would have woken her dormmates with how loud she was laughing.

"Oh come on Mione...please?" Angie said, rolling onto her stomach and shuffling around to gaze up at her. She fluttered her eyelashes and pouted for effect.

Hermione snickered and shook her head. "I won't tell you how big he was...but I will tell you he definitely knew how to use it." She waggled her own eyebrows back at Angie and smirked.

Angie laughed again and grinned up at her. "Bet you can't wait to do it again," she said.

Hermione groaned. "No, I can't. I wanted to do it again almost immediately, but Fred wouldn't let me."

"Awww!" Angie cooed. "He really does love you. That would have made you really sore if he'd let it happen."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, he did say that." She smiled just thinking about it, and him.

"You need at least a day or two," Angie said, starting to play with Hermione's covers. "Just to let your body heal a bit and adjust. But it shouldn't take longer than that and you can always get up to other stuff," she snickered, wagging her eyebrows again.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned beet-red. "I haven't actually ever...you know...done other stuff..." she mumbled, chewing on her lip and waiting to see how hard Angie would laugh at her.

Angie smiled softly at her. "It's fairly easy. It can be a bit nerve-wracking if you've never done it before, a bit like sex really but not nearly so scary."

Hermione scrunched her face up and felt so embarrassed. "I don't really talk about sex all that much. At least not openly. It kind of makes me squirm." She sighed and her shoulders dropped. "My parents were pretty conservative. Technically I was supposed to wait until I got married..."

Angie shrugged and smirked up at her. "You'll marry Fred one day, so I wouldn't worry."

Hermione laughed. "I don't know that. No one can possibly know that!"

Angie shook her head and smiled at her. "Mione, if you don't end up married to Fred, then something is very very wrong with the world."

"Yeah, well, same could be said for you and George," Hermione muttered, her cheeks burning.

Angie giggled. "Oh, I already know I'm going to marry that man some day." She sighed wistfully.

Hermione smiled at her, thinking how beautiful she was with such an adoring look in her eye.

"Anyway," Angie said, shaking herself out of it, "we were talking about sex..."

Hermione cringed. "I'd rather not."

"Come on," Angie tapped her knee, "what haven't you done that you're so worried about? Fred must have eaten you out by now if you've full on shagged..."

Hermione shook her head. "We sort of skipped all the small steps and went straight for the big one."

"Holy shit," Angie laughed. "Well, when he does, and he will, it feels fucking fantastic. You just have to remember to relax. If you're all tense it won't be as much fun."

Hermione nodded, thinking that Angie's advice was probably more like common sense.

"And honestly, blow jobs are like the easiest thing in the world to do," she said nonchalantly. "You just pretend like it's a lollipop. Lots of sucking and licking. It doesn't always taste that great when they cum in your mouth, but I've definitely had worse go down my throat. Not that you have to swallow, if you don't want to. Some girls really hate doing that."

Hermione nodded again, not sure if Angie was helping or making things worse.

"Don't panic Mione, you're with Fred. There's no way he'd make you do anything you didn't want," she said. "He wouldn't even manipulate you into it. And you know he'd go as slow as you wanted. He wouldn't push you, not even a little bit."

Hermione chuckled and let out a heavy breath. "Yeah, you're right about that. He'd never do anything like that."

"Exactly," she said with a smile.

"It's weird how safe I feel with him," Hermione muttered. "He just...he makes me feel so at ease. And I have no idea why."

"It's because you fit," Angie said. "You match, like you're made for each other. You make perfect sense. He's your one true love," she hummed, grinning madly at Hermione.

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "I'm not sure I believe in something so sappy!"

Angie looked aghast at her. "But...you are in love with him though, aren't you?"

Hermione chuckled. "Of course I'm in love with him. I'm...I can't describe it...I feel more for him than I've ever felt for anything or anyone else in my whole life."

"But you don't believe in a one true love?" Angie frowned.

Hermione shook her head. "Just because I can't imagine ever loving someone else the way I love Fred, doesn't mean that it's not possible. No one knows what the future holds."

"What about soulmates? D'you believe in them?" Angie asked, staring up at her.

Hermione twisted her lips in thought. "No...not the way most people do." She looked back down at Angelina and smiled. "I believe that some people's souls are better suited to one another than others, like they compliment each other almost perfectly. But I don't believe that there's one person out there who was made specifically for you."

"You're way too practical," Angie huffed good-naturedly.

Hermione shrugged. "I've lived my whole life thinking logically and practically. It's got me this far."

Angie smiled and nodded. "And you still ended up with a prankster," she smirked.

Hermione sighed and nodded, a smile twitching at her lips.

"So...how do you feel about them ditching us and running off to start a joke shop?" Angie asked, staring intently at her.

Hermione groaned and fell backwards onto her pillow, not really wanting to think about it. Angie crawled a bit further up the bed so she could see Hermione's face.

"Come on Mione, you can tell me for real. I promise I won't tell Fred," she said softly.

Hermione's lip trembled and her eyes burned as tears formed faster than she realised was possible. "I'm absolutely fucking terrified..." she whispered.

Angie nodded, glancing at Hermione and then looking at her fingers as she fiddled with the edge of the bedspread. "Me too."

"I'm half expecting to get expelled just because they left," Hermione murmured.

"You know if you asked Fred to stay, he'd stay," Angie said.

Hermione nodded, twisting her fingers as her hands rested on her stomach. She turned her head to look sideways at Angie as the girl came to lie next to her.

"You won't ask him though, will you?" she sighed.

Hermione shook her head. "I can't. It's...it's his dream. _Their_ dream. And I know that they wouldn't think twice about putting it on hold for me but, I don't need their-"

"-protection," Angie finished for her with a smug grin.

"Exactly," Hermione chuckled. "And, I don't know. It feels like the right thing to do. It feels like they should leave. Like it's the right time."

"You've always got me," Angie said, smiling across at her. "I know it's not the same as Fred, and I know you've got Harry and Ron. But-"

"You've got me too," Hermione said. "You're losing George as well."

Angie shrugged. "I'm not the one Umbitch is gunning for."

Hermione sighed, her heart heavy again. "Yeah...I just don't know how I'm going to successfully argue that Fred and I are a serious couple once he's up and left the building."

Angie shrugged again. "Maybe she won't be too bad. She's having enough trouble as Headmistress already without eating up her time chasing a personal vendetta. And she seems to be focusing a lot on Harry lately too..."

"I can't throw my best friend under the bus," Hermione said.

"No, but maybe you could share her unwanted attention," Angie suggested. "She might not go full gung-ho on one of you if she's going half gung-ho on both of you?"

"Yeah, maybe..." Hermione hummed, thinking about it. She yawned, getting really tired now. Her eyes were heavy and she was having trouble keeping them open.

"Just think about it," Angie yawned too. "I'm not saying that you should engineer it that way, just that since it seems to be happening naturally, you might as well take advantage of it."

"Mmmm," Hermione said, barely managing a nod.

Angie begrudgingly crawled off Hermione's bed and wondered back to the door.

"Night Mione," she whispered as she left.

"Night Angie," Hermione whispered back. As the door clicked shut Hermione let sleep take her.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione had awoken the next morning to Lavender and Parvarti whispering to each other as they glanced at her. She took no note of it as she got up and began to get ready for the day. She'd basically gotten used to it by now; they'd been doing it since she started dating Fred. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she was surprised to find Angelina there waiting for her.

"Hey Angie, everything okay?" Hermione asked, frowning at the girl.

Angie nodded, biting down on her lip. "Yeah, but I think Lavender or Parvarti heard me leave your dorm last night," she said softly.

"Right...?"

"And I think Katie's a bit upset that I came to see you last night and spent so long with you," she mumbled, her voice low so no one else would hear.

"And...?" Hermione was confused now.

"Well, it would seem as though the three of them have joined forces and are now subtly trying to insinuate we're cheating on Fred and George, with each other..." Angie cringed as she finished, looking up at Hermione.

Hermione snorted, trying to contain her amusement. "Seriously?"

Angie nodded, relieved Hermione had seen the funny side of it. "Yeah, seriously."

Hermione giggled before breaking out into proper laughter. "Oh my god! Was that the best they could do?" she whispered.

Angie snorted too and shrugged. "Hey, at least Katie found some new friends for a while."

Hermione tipped her head in agreement.

"So what do we do?" Angie asked, biting her lip as she looked up at Hermione.

Hermione shrugged. "Just go with it."

"Go with it?" Angie balked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Fred once said that most people have made up their minds when it comes to rumours. If you agree or disagree, they just see it as you lying or telling the truth. So I figure we just leave them to it and go with it."

Angie contemplated her words and seemed to get what Hermione was saying. "Okay, we'll just go with it."

Hermione grinned. "It's not like anyone's really going to believe them," she said. "Apparently all you have to do is look at us to see that we're madly in love with the Weasley twins."

Angie nodded and laughed. "Speak of the devils..." she said, seeing them hit the bottom of the boys' staircase.

George was frowning at the two of them while Fred was just yawning. They ambled on over and Hermione giggled as Fred pulled her into his arms and kissed her, nuzzling her with his nose.

"Why is there a rumour floating around that you two were shagging last night?" George asked, looking between his girlfriend and Hermione.

"Because we were," Hermione said, her voice slightly muffled since Fred had wrapped his arms around her and snuggled half her face into his chest.

George just looked at her like she'd gone mad.

"She came to see me last night," Hermione said, shrugging at George as best she could. "Said she was a bit sexually frustrated since you're not all that good in bed. So I showed her a good time."

Fred snorted and fell apart laughing so hard. George gave her a flat look and then scowled at her.

Angelina's reaction wasn't far off Fred's. "I thought you said you found it hard to talk about sex?" she laughed.

Fred sniggered. "Only when it's real," he said, grinning at his girlfriend. Suddenly his whole face dropped. "Hang on a minute," he pointed at Hermione, "for her to know that," his finger flicked to Angie and back again, "you must have been talking about sex. The real kind..."

Hermione chewed on her lip and shuffled awkwardly on the spot, a guilty blush staining her cheeks.

George was still too pissed at her to laugh.

"Did you two...?" Fred asked, looking incredulously at them both as his finger waved backwards and forwards between them.

"We might have done," Angie said, smirking at Fred.

"Can you elaborate?" George huffed. "Because there's this rumour-"

Angelina rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head. "Don't be a bell end, George."

Hermione sniggered, earning her another glare from him.

"So...what were you doing then?" Fred asked, swallowing nervously as he looked between the girls.

"Something so much worse than shagging," Angie said, smiling sweetly up at him.

"What's worse than shagging?" George said, looking well and truly put out.

"Talking, Georgie. They were talking," Fred said, groaning as he looked at the pair of them.

"Why's that...worse...?" George's voice faded as he looked at the two of them. Both Hermione and Angelina were grinning manically at him, their arms folded and a scary look in their eyes. "Oh shit..." he mumbled.

"Oh shit indeed," Fred muttered.

Harry and Ron joined them a few minutes later, the former strangely silent. Hermione frowned as she watched him eat his breakfast while barely saying a word. She was even more surprised that neither of them had brought up the new rumour about her and Angelina. Ginny had obviously heard it since she loudly asked if she could join in with them next time. Hermione rolled her eyes and felt a deep pang of affection for the youngest Weasley.

The rumour mill continued to churn out even more far fetched renditions of Hermione and Angelina's scandalous night together. The best one she'd heard had actually involved Ginny, and she was sure the red-head was to blame. The most outrageous one so far was that her and Fred, and George and Angelina were a foursome, partaking in a phenomenal amount of group sex.

.

The Easter holidays were in full swing, Hermione having already spent a good portion of it revising and worrying about Harry. He seemed so distracted of late and she couldn't figure out why. He wasn't talking to her all that much, and while she was sure he wasn't hung up on Cho, she couldn't think of any other reason he'd be in such a slump.

"I'm just concerned about him Fred," Hermione sighed, peering at her best friend as he sat all alone in the library.

Fred sighed. "Love, you can't force him to talk to you. He'll tell you what's wrong when he's ready."

"I know...I just..." She dropped her shoulders and chewed on her lip, gazing forlornly at him through the bookcase.

She wasn't spying, she was just checking up on him. Truth be told, she felt a bit guilty for getting so wrapped up in Fred that she hadn't noticed Harry was hurting until recently. She knew he wouldn't blame her, but she'd never wanted to be one of those girls who dropped all her friends the minute she found a bloke and they started having sex. And she'd had quite a bit of sex with Fred since their first time in the classroom.

Fred kissed her neck as he stood behind her, watching her ponder. Neither of them noticed his little sister until she was sat at the table with Harry. She looked completely windswept.

"Oh, hi," Harry said, once he'd realised she was sitting right in front of him. The fact that it had taken Ginny several moments to get his attention worried Hermione even more.

"How come you're not at practice?" he asked.

"This is full on spying now, Mi," Fred murmured in her ear. She shivered and then scowled at him.

"It's over," Ginny said, grimacing at Harry. "Ron had to take Jack Sloper up to the hospital wing."

"Why?"

"Well, we're not sure, but we think he knocked himself out with his own bat," she said, sighing heavily.

Harry snorted and then quickly apologised. Ginny's lips twitched but she shook her head and instead set a box wrapped in brown paper on the table.

"Anyway," Ginny said, "a package just arrived. It's only just got through Umbridge's new screening process."

The box had clearly been unwrapped and then carelessly re-wrapped. Hermione could see a scribbled note across it but wasn't close enough to read what it said.

"Practically stalking now, love," Fred hummed, his voice sliding down her spine as his hands squeezed her hips gently.

Hermione swallowed, trying to ignore the way he was making her body feel. She was here for Harry. And she wasn't spying. Or stalking. She wasn't even looking for him when she stumbled across him. She just opted to stare intently at him through a bookshelf instead of actually going to talk to him.

"It's Easter eggs from mum," Ginny said, digging her hand into the box. "There's one for you." She pulled out a beautifully decorated chocolate egg and passed it to Harry. "There you go."

Hermione could see the way Harry stilled, she saw the sheen in his eyes even through his glasses and the way he swallowed, as though there was a lump in his throat. She felt one rise in her own.

Fred gripped her tight as she turned, intent on going to find out what was wrong.

"Fred-"

"Leave him. Let Gin try," he whispered.

"But I'm his best friend," she argued.

"Yeah, but sometimes people need something a bit different," he argued back. "Just see what she does? Okay?"

"But-"

"Mi, continuously asking him what's wrong and if he's okay hasn't got you anywhere so far," Fred said softly. "So unless you have an entirely new angle up your sleeve, let someone else see if they can help him."

Hermione sighed but nodded, coming back to stand in front of Fred again, peering out at Harry and waiting with baited breath to see what Ginny would do.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said gruffly, clearly not fine.

Ginny shifted a bit in her seat, not taking her eyes off him. "You just, you seem really down lately," she persisted. "You know, I'm sure if you just talked to Cho-"

"It's not Cho I want to talk to," Harry huffed, cutting her off.

Hermione gaped from behind the bookcase, Fred smirking slightly at how well played that was on Ginny's part.

"Well, who is it then?" she said, watching him closely.

"I..." Harry's eyes started to dart around, looking at the bits of library near him, obviously wanting to make sure no one was listening. Hermione and Fred ducked just in time, almost getting caught.

"I wish I could talk to Sirius," he murmured. "But I know I can't."

Hermione peered through the lowest shelf on the bookcase as Harry unwrapped his Easter egg and shoved a large piece of it into his mouth. She'd only just been able to hear what he'd said to Ginny, and was now wondering why on earth he needed to speak to Sirius so badly.

"Well..." Ginny said slowly, reaching forwards and pinching a bit of his egg. "If you really want to talk to Sirius, I'm sure we could think of a way to make it happen."

Fred immediately clamped his hand over Hermione's mouth, seeing the indignant shriek of 'no we can't!' in her eyes a fraction of a second before it reached her lips.

Harry scoffed. "Come on, seriously? With Umbridge policing the fires and reading all our mail? Yeah, right."

Ginny grinned. "Harry," she said, her voice almost thoughtful, "the thing about growing up with Fred and George, is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve."

Fred beamed at Hermione, his hand still over her mouth. Hermione scowled at him.

Suddenly there was a loud and indignant shriek that seemed to be emanating from Madam Pince. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

"Oh shit!" Ginny muttered, jumping to her feet and throwing Harry a wry smile as he sniggered at her.

"Chocolate in the library?!" Madam Pince screamed as she stalked towards them.

Ginny grabbed her stuff as Harry finally jumped up from the table, grabbing the egg.

"Out - out - OUT!" the librarian shrieked, spelling Harry's book, bag and ink bottle to chase him and Ginny from the library, whacking them repeatedly over the head as they ran.

"Come on you two!" Ginny cried, looking back at a rather shocked Fred and Hermione as she hurtled past.

Hermione, not wanting to incur the wrath of one of her favourite staff members, ducked out of the aisle after Ginny, wincing at Harry's confused expression as he saw her emerge.

.

Once all four of them - Fred had followed - had made it out of the library, they collapsed against a wall. Ginny and Harry were giggling to themselves while Fred sniggered at the pair of them. Hermione just chewed her lip and looked worriedly at Harry.

"You're not really going to try and talk to Sirius, are you Harry?" she asked, unable to keep her mouth shut any longer.

Fred groaned and rolled his eyes, looking forlornly at his smart-but-sometimes-stupid girlfriend.

"Were you spying on me?" Harry asked, gawping at her.

Hermione blushed and got a bit flustered.

"You weren't very good at it, that's for sure," Ginny said.

Hermione scowled at her, although not in a particularly menacing or meaningful way.

"Why were you spying on me?" Harry huffed, pushing himself to his feet as he managed to get the last of his stuff into his bag.

Ginny scoffed and gave him a flat look. "Because your her best mate and you've been all..." She waved her fingers at him and made a funny face. "...mehrr..."

Harry raised his eyebrows at her, his lips twitching in amusement. "mehrr?"

Ginny shrugged. "I stand by it."

Harry shook his head and sniggered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you, I just..." He cringed a bit and shrugged. "...I was kind of hoping that all the time you've been spending with Fred would mean you hadn't noticed..."

Hermione looked so guilty then that Harry quickly held his hands out and waved at her. "No, not like that Mione. I'm not upset that you're happy, you ridiculous woman! I just meant that I was kind of happy stewing in my own self-pity and didn't actually want you to notice..."

"Why wouldn't you want me to notice?" Hermione asked.

Harry grimaced. "Because you'd make me talk about it and I didn't want to talk about it..."

"But...you talked to Ginny," Hermione said, a bit confused but not hurt. She was just glad that Harry had opened up, even if it wasn't necessarily to her.

Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He talked to me because I caught him completely off guard, and he wasn't expecting me, of all people, to notice his mehrr-ness."

"You're really committing to that, aren't you?" Harry said, a twinkle in his eye as she smirked at him.

Hermione nodded. "I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you," Harry said. He stepped up to her and wrapped her up in a big hug, squeezing her tight.

Hermione sighed, feeling much better after that. She smiled at Harry as he let her go.

"So, what do you need to talk to Sirius about?" Hermione asked.

Harry groaned and hung his head back. "I'm not telling you that. I just want to talk to him."

"But, if it's so important that you'd be willing to risk you getting caught, _and_ him, Harry..." Hermione stared at him.

"Hermione, it doesn't matter," Harry said. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But Harry-"

"Fred," Ginny said, cutting Hermione off. Fred looked at her and she smiled sweetly at him. "Distract Hermione, will you?"

"Of course," Fred chuckled, grinning at his sister.

"Distract me? Why? And how-" Hermione was once again cut off as Fred walked towards her, bent down and effortlessly picked her up over his shoulder. He started walking down the hallway with Hermione wriggling around and screaming at him.

"Fred! Put me down! How is this a distraction?!" Hermione cried, seeing Ginny grab Harry's hand and tug him in the opposite direction. Their only saving grace was hearing Harry laugh properly as he sprinted away, something Hermione hadn't heard in too long.

.

Fred finally set Hermione down in front of the one-eyed witch. He looked around to make sure they were alone and then tapped her hump with his wand, murmuring dissendium and revealing the small opening in her hump. Hermione looked at him in surprised.

"Just get in before we get caught," he said. "You can yell at me in a minute once we're inside."

Hermione huffed and wriggled her way in, sliding over the top part of the hump and bracing her knees as she hit the floor. She moved out of the way just as Fred landed right where she'd been. Fred moved them away from the statue and down the long passageway.

"Where does this lead?" Hermione asked, not sounding like she really wanted an answer.

"Honeydukes cellar," Fred said. "But we're not actually sneaking out. I just wanted to get you far enough away from the statue before you started shouting at me."

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms indignantly. "What else did you expect me to do?!" she snapped. "You slung me over your shoulder like a sack of spuds!"

"Well if you weren't interrogating Harry-"

"I wasn't _interrogating_ him!" she ranted. "I was talking to him!"

"Refusing to accept that he doesn't want to answer your question, and then continuing to ask it until he does, is interrogating," Fred snapped back.

"I wasn't doing that!" Hermione stomped her foot and then looked down at it like it had betrayed her. "I wasn't!" she said again. "Urgh! Now I just sound like a petulant child!"

Fred snorted. "Your words, not mine."

Hermione growled at him. "I _wasn't_ interrogating Harry. I'm concerned about him."

Fred sighed. "I know you are love. But I also know that you crave knowledge and you hate not knowing things."

"It's not like that!" Hermione cried.

"Except it a little bit is," Fred said. "I'm aware that your main reason for wanting to know is that you're worried about him and you want to help him. But that's not the part of you that's relentless in trying to get an answer."

"I'm not relentless," Hermione snapped. "I'm concerned."

"So be concerned Hermione," Fred said, starting to lose his patience. "Worry like the rest of us and just be there when he needs you! Don't force him to talk about something he clearly doesn't want to!"

"It's not healthy to bottle feelings up!" Hermione argued. "If you really don't want to talk about something, it usually means you really should!"

"But it's not for _you_ to decide that!" he bellowed. "Just because you're his best friend it doesn't mean you always know what's best for him," he said, forcing himself to calm down.

Hermione scowled at him. "You have no idea what we've been through together-"

"Don't do that," he said, shaking his head and scrunching his face up at her. "If I have no idea what you've been through together, it's because _you_ haven't told me. I could use the same argument anytime it comes to me and George, or any one of my siblings really..."

Hermione shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. "He's been having these weird dreams where he's after something in the Department of Mysteries. Dumbledore thinks he's linked to Voldemort somehow. He's been making Snape give him occlumancy lessons to try and teach him to close his mind before Voldemort figures out that Harry can see what he's up to."

Fred's face dropped. "Fucking hell," he murmured.

Hermione shrugged. "D'you get it now?"

Fred gave her a flat look. "I get why you're as worried as you are, yes. But you still don't get to hound your best friend until he tells you what you want to know."

Hermione glared muderously at him, now losing her temper. "Fred, if something is going on with Harry, enough that he'd risk trying to talk to Sirius, I _need_ to know about it. I _need_ to be there for him-"

"So fucking be there for him," Fred cried, raking his hands through his hair and getting more and more wound up by the second. Hermione couldn't help but notice how hot he looked, which wasn't helping. "Be the best fucking friend you've ever been! But Hermione, he is only going to resent you and your friendship if you _force_ it out of him!"

Hermione let out a cry of frustration and wrung her hands in the air. "I know!" she screamed, "but I don't know what else to do!"

She stared at Fred, panting with rage, her body pumped up from their argument. She wasn't mad at Fred, she was mad at _everything_. She was buzzing with energy and didn't know what to do with it. That was until Fred's gaze flicked from her eyes to her lips.

Hermione careened into him, crashing her lips into his and swinging her arms around his neck. Her fingers raked through his hair, tugging at the strands and pulling him close to her as she pushed her body into his.

Fred was momentarily overcome with shock, for all of half a second. He'd wanted to jump her the minute she started sparring with him; her eyes had been so alight and her hair looked wild as it almost sparked with her magic the more worked up she got. He knew he was a dead man the minute he realised how fucking devine she looked all pent up with anger.

Hermione growled and tugged on Fred's bottom lip with her teeth. She groaned as Fred slammed her into the wall behind her, his teeth and lips clashing with her own. His hands ran up the sides of her legs, gripping her thighs hard as he lifted her feet off the floor and she wrapped her legs around him.

Hermione quivered as Fred's lips left hers and he sucked and nipped his way down her neck, roughly palming her breast through her shirt. She about lost it when a second later he ripped open her blouse, pulled down the cup of her bra and set his mouth on her.

She moaned loudly, pulling at his hair as he flicked his tongue and sucked on her nipple. She couldn't take it much longer. This was the fastest and hardest they'd ever been, but by God did she need it. She wanted to feel him inside of her, she wanted the release she knew he'd give her, and she wanted it _now_.

Her hands left his hair and went straight for the fastening on his jeans. She wasn't even shaking as she deftly undid the button and pushed the zipper down. She quickly shoved both his jeans and boxers down over his hips until his cock was completely free of them.

Fred shuddered as she wrapped her hand around him and stroked him firmly. His lips left her breast and crashed back into hers. He lost his breath when he felt her tug her own skirt up her thighs, wriggling to get herself closer to him.

Hermione panted, gripping onto Fred's shoulders and digging her nails in through his shirt. She rocked herself against him, both her arousal and frustration growing every time her clit grazed his cock. She whined at him and Fred bit down gently on her lip. He could feel how wet she was through her knickers, he didn't have to check.

Hermione's heart sped up as she felt Fred pull her knickers aside. In one swift thrust, he'd buried himself inside her and she moaned loudly. She tipped her head back against the wall and held on tight to his shoulders, groaning as he pounded steadily into her. The pressure on her hips where his fingetips dug into her skin was wonderfully and punishingly perfect. His teeth grazed up and down her throat as Hermione fisted her hands in his hair, her breathing becoming more and more erratic as each minute passed.

"More..." she moaned, the sound barely recognisable as words. " _More_..." she moaned again, more persistently.

Fred grunted as he took a small step back, bracing Hermione against the wall and angling her body slightly so he could drive into her faster and harder. He gripped her ass and grit his teeth as he slammed her onto him with every thrust, the sound of skin slapping against skin echoing through the passage way.

"Fred..." Hermione groaned, her body thrumming deliciously as he impaled her over and over again.

Fred was in awe of her. She was so lost in the pleasure he couldn't take his eyes off her. He was so close to losing it that he had to get her to come, and now. He let go of one hip and pressed his thumb against her clit, breaking his rhythm but deepening his thrust. Hermione's eyes rolled and he felt her walls flutter around his cock. Four more slow and hard thrusts and she cried out, the release she'd been craving finally coming.

Fred stepped towards her again. He buried his face in her shoulder and pumped himself into her twice more, his own restraint breaking and his orgasm flowing through him. He held Hermione against the wall, feeling her shiver and shudder as she rode out her orgasm. His legs shook and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take her weight.

.

Hermione wobbled as Fred gently placed her feet back on the floor and slipped out of her. Her cheeks were blazing and she didn't know what to do with herself. She felt so amazing and completely embarrassed all at the same time.

"Hey, Mi..." Fred murmured, running the back of his fingers along her cheek.

She looked up to see him smiling softly at her.

"You feel better now?" he asked.

Hermione nodded, clearing her throat and looking down, seeing the state they were still in. She cringed and blushed even harder.

"Hey," Fred said, a little firmer this time, gently tipping her head up to look at him. "You don't need to be embarrassed love..."

Hermione huffed, feeling silly. "I jumped you in the middle of a passageway and just shagged you against a wall because I was _frustrated_..."

Fred chuckled. "Yeah, but it was fucking incredible," he said.

"That's not the point!" Hermione laughed, looking at him in amazement. "I totally lost myself. I just...went all... _crazy_ on you...!"

"It was so _so_ hot," Fred said, grinning at her.

"I used you!" she cried, burying her face in her hands. She wasn't as worried about his reaction anymore but she still felt a bit embarrassed for having lost her control like that.

Fred laughed. "You didn't use me. Don't be so ridiculous." He took hold of her hands and peeled them away from her face. "If I didn't want to fuck you against the wall, I wouldn't have done it."

Hermione huffed again, her lips twitching at how endearing he'd managed to make that sound. "I'm not used to losing control of myself, not like that."

"You should do it more often," Fred said, grinning even harder at her. "I'd be more than up for it. And it relieves tension. Feels amazing."

Hermione sighed and shook her head, smiling at him. She started to tidy herself up and Fred did the same, waving his wand and cleaning them up a bit.

"You're the worst influence on me, Fred Weasley," she mumbled, still shaking slightly from how good he'd made her feel.

Fred snickered. "I shall wear that badge with pride."

"I wasn't too loud, was I?" she asked, biting her lip and looking sheepishly up at him.

Fred shook his head. "You'll never be too loud for me," he said softly, gazing sweetly at her. "And I silenced this passageway as soon as we were in it."

"You did?"

"Well yeah, I thought it was going to be for an entirely different sort of screaming, but I still didn't want anyone to hear it," he said.

Hermione giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling him with her nose. She kissed him softly, Fred's arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her body flush with his. They stayed kissing sweetly for several minutes before making their way out of the secret passageway.

.

It was the last day of the Easter holidays and Hermione had been studying as much as she could. Fred had been trying to distract her as much as he could. They were currently sitting underneath a tree out by the lake with George and Angelina. Hermione was nestled in between Fred's legs with a book on her lap, still trying to study. Fred had his arms wrapped around her stomach and kept peppering kisses across her shoulders and down the back of her neck. It didn't look like Angie was faring much better with George.

"Fred!" Hermione hissed, getting a little bit frustrated with him. "I'm trying to concentrate. Now pack it in!"

Fred pouted. "I'm trying to make the most of my very limited time with you..."

It was the tone of this voice that made Hermione sit up straight and look over her shoulder at him. "How limited?" she asked quietly.

"Tomorrow," he breathed, his eyes glazing over and his face so sad.

Hermione cleared her throat and nodded, her own eyes beginning to sting.

"Tomorrow?" Angie said, her voice scratchy as she looked at George.

George nodded, swallowing and meeting her eyes. "Tomorrow..."

Fred wrapped himself tighter around Hermione, his lips ghosting against the shell of her ear. "I'm sorry..."

Hermione let out a wobbly little breath, unable to look at him. "I know," she murmured, leaning further back into him.

Fred kissed her temple and sighed, his whole body sagging in both sadness and relief.

"Fred said about Harry wanting to talk to Sirius," George said, waving his wand and making sure no one could overhear the four of them. It was a given that Angie knew everything since she didn't look completely shocked or horrified.

"I still think it's a stupid risk to take," Hermione huffed. "I mean, she's monitoring all the fireplaces-"

"Except hers," George cut in.

Hermione gave him an incredulous look. "You can't be serious?! You want Harry to sneak into her office?!"

"We're going to distract her," Fred said. "Big, massive, see-you-later distraction..."

"She's still going to have locked her sodding office!" Hermione snapped.

"Yeah, that's the only problem we've come across so far," George muttered. "Because I doubt a simple alohamora is going to unlock it."

Hermione groaned and rolled her eyes. "Harry can open it."

"What? How?" Fred frowned.

"Sirius gave him a knife Christmas before last. It will open near enough any lock in existence," she huffed.

"Brilliant," George beamed. "It's decided then. We shall use our great escape to help Harry accomplish his most daring task yet."

Hermione rolled her eyes and leant back into Fred, huffing.

Angelina stared at the both the boys, wondering if at any point they were going to see the flaw in their plan. "Uh, guys...? You do realise that the minute you run off into the night after your undoubtedly very public and incredibly inconvenient distraction, that Umbridge is going to turn on Mione faster than a fox to a rabbit? Right?"

Fred's whole face crumpled and George grimaced.

Hermione chuckled softly. "You had thought of that, hadn't you?"

Fred nodded against her shoulder.

"But you don't care?" Angie asked, evidently confused.

Fred's head shot up as he looked at her. "Of course I care, I just...I know she can handle it. And I know she'd want to handle it."

Angie looked down at Hermione. "Really?"

Hermione nodded, her face scrunched up in apologetic acknowledgement that Fred was right.

"I do have a secret weapon though," Fred murmured in her ear. "To help...keep Umbridge at bay."

Hermione twisted to frown at him over her shoulder.

"D'you want to see it?" Fred asked.

Hermione nodded, intrigued by whatever it was Fred could possibly have up his sleeve. Even George was frowning at him.

Fred untangled himself from Hermione and stood up, reaching out his hand to help to her feet.

"What's this secret weapon Freddie?" George asked.

"I'll tell you later," Fred said, smirking at his twin.

"It better be good," George muttered, scowling back at him.

.

Fred took hold of Hermione's hand and led her back through the castle. He turned this way and that, peering around random corners and looking in the odd classroom. He was suspiciously quiet, as though he was listening for something. It was only when a small group of screaming first years went barreling down the hallway did he suddenly grin and fly up it in the opposite direction.

"Ta da..." Fred said, holding his hands out and smiling widely at Hermione.

Hermione looked from Fred to the 'secret weapon' and back again.

"Peeves is your secret weapon?" Hermione asked, absolutely stunned. It was one of the very few times in her life she could remember genuinely being at a loss for words.

"Miss Granger," Peeves greeted her, swooping his hat off his head and bowing low.

"Hello Peeves," Hermione said, nodding politely at him.

"Mr Weasley has told me all about you," Peeves said, a gleefully wicked grin on his face. "You're more like us than you'd want anyone to believe!"

Hermione just gaped at him.

"I've basically told Peeves the whole thing," Fred said. "I told him how we started out, I told him what we plan to do and most importantly, I told him that Umbridge will be after you once we're gone."

"And how does that help me?" Hermione asked weakly.

"The best way to piss of Umbitch is to get in the way of her revenge on you," Peeves said, beaming at Fred as he finished reciting what he'd obviously been taught.

"So what does that mean you're going to do Peeves?" Fred said, gesturing slowly for him to continue.

"It means I shall watch Miss Granger and anytime Umbitch is talking to her, I shall cause the most terrible upset so she shall have to come running on her stumpy little legs to sort me out!" Peeves cackled.

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew Fred's claws had sunk in deep when she felt her lips twitch with a smile instead of her eyebrows flicker with a frown.

"Nice one Peeves," Fred said, nodding and grinning at the poltergeist. "We'll leave you to it then. Let you get on with whatever mischief you're up to at the moment."

Peeves bowed low again and waved as Fred and Hermione walked off.

As soon as they were far enough away, Hermione burst into giggles and stopped Fred in the corridor.

"A poltergeist? You're sticking a poltergeist on her?" she said, grinning wildly up at him as she looped her hands around his neck.

Fred chuckled. "Not just any poltergeist, the best poltergeist."

Hermione tipped her head in agreement. "Yes, I suppose I'll have to agree with you there. Peeves is definitely one of a kind."

"I just wanted you to have some back up, that's all," Fred said.

"You're one of kind, Mr Weasley," Hermione hummed, leaning in and giving him a kiss.

"Actually I'm one of two of a kind," he snickered.

Hermione shook her head. "You might look the same but you're not George. No more than George is you. And...it's definitely not George I want to spend the night with, tonight..."

Fred's eyes got a whole lot darker, and his gaze became a whole lot more heated. "I suppose we'd best make the most of our last night, hadn't we?" he murmured, leaning towards her as his hands squeezed her tightly around the waist.

"Yes, we had," Hermione said, nudging his nose teasingly with hers. "Because...as amazing as our last encounter was...it was way too fast for it to be our last, at least our last for a while..."

Fred closed the gap between their lips and kissed her soundly. Hermione ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, returning his passion with fervour.

"Fucking hell, I'm going to miss you," he breathed, leaning his forehead against hers, his eyes closed as his emotions seemed to get the better of him for a second.

"Me too," Hermione murmured, her voice breaking slightly. "It's going to be so strange without you..."

Fred kissed her again, and just for a moment all their passion was forgotten. Instead, he kissed her soft and slow, like she was his everything. Like he'd give anything not to have to let her go. It hit him hard just how much she meant to him, just how much her wellbeing affected his own and how much he'd so quickly and easily fallen for her.

"Hermione..." he whispered against her lips, closing his eyes and bumping his forehead gently against hers as he struggled with the words.

"I know," she whispered back, smoothing his cheeks with her thumbs as she held the sides of his neck. "I know."

Fred slumped in defeat, wanting to tell her, wanting to say those three little words. But he couldn't. He couldn't get them past his lips. He knew once he said them, he wouldn't leave. He didn't want to just throw them at her and then bugger off. When he said them, he wanted her to know he truly meant them, and he wanted the memory of it to be a beautiful moment that wasn't tarnished by his departure.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight, her chin resting on his shoulder. Fred's arms wound around her waist and pulled her gently but firmly into him.

"I promise I'll write..." he said softly, his breath against her ear.

"I promise I'll write back," she said.

"I promise I'll be at the station when you get back to London," he said.

"I promise I'll be looking for you even before the train has stopped," she said, clinging to him, her hands fisted in his shirt, her head buried in his chest as her eyes stung with tears.

They stayed like that for a long time. Neither of them wanted to be the first to step away and neither of them could remember who actually did. Fred and George spoke to Harry that night in the common room and the plan was set in motion. Hermione felt like she was holding her breath and wasn't sure when she'd be able to let it go. Probably not until the inevitable war had been fought. She couldn't help but think that this was the beginning of the end, she just hoped the end was a happy one.

Fred slunk off into the night with Hermione for the last time. He spent half the night making love to her as sweetly as he could, not wanting her to doubt how he felt about her even once he'd left. He was completely besotted by the witch and didn't know what he'd do if she wound herself up in knots while he was gone and dumped him without warning. He hoped she wouldn't, but he also knew how much harder it was going to be once there was so much distance between them.

.

Hermione had spent the day trying to dissuade Harry from calling Sirius. She knew it was pointless but she felt she at least ought to try. Fred was leaving no matter what, so she might as well try to save Harry if she could. She sighed as she watched him run off in the opposite direction of all the commotion that was going on above them.

Hermione gave him one last fearful look before walking with the masses to find out what was going on. It didn't take long for the chaos to erupt and soon the crowd were parting as the twins fled the scene of the crime, closely followed by Umbridge and Filch.

"Alright, love?" Fred muttered as he raced passed her. Hermione shook her head, a small but amused smile on her face.

The rest of the student body ran after them, the parted crowd converging again quickly in order to continue their pursuit. Hermione bustled along with them and ended up standing at the top of the marble staircase, watching the twins as they accidentally on purpose got cornered. There were students and teachers all gathered around, some of them covered in what looked like stinksap. Members of the Inquistorial squad were all looking incredibly pleased with themselves as they stood in the inner circle, Peeves floating overhead, gazing down at Fred and George. Harry jogged past her, not noticing she was standing there and wanting to see what was going on.

"So!" Umbridge squealed loudly, standing nearly at the bottom of the staircase and glaring manically at the twins. "So! You think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?" she asked in her high pitched, squeaky voice. Well, that explained the stinksap substance.

Fred gazed nonchalantly up at her. "Pretty amusing, yeah," he said, adding in a lazy shrug for good measure.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Filch had elbowed his way closer to Umbridge by this point, almost crying with happiness.

"I've got the form, Headmistress," he said hoarsely, gleefully waving a piece of parchment at her. "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting. Oh! Let me do it now?!"

"Very good Argus," she said primly, smiling evilly at the twins. "You two are about to learn what happens to wrong-doers in my school!"

Fred scrunched his face up. "You know what? I don't think we are," he said. He turned to George. "I think we've outgrown full time education Georgie."

George nodded. "Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," he said lightly.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" Fred asked.

"Definitely!" George said, grinning at his brother.

Before Umbridge could say another word, the pair of them lifted their wands and said at exactly the same time, " _accio_ _brooms_!"

There was a loud crash somewhere in the distance, and then their brooms came shooting into sight, one still trailing the heavy chain and iron peg Umbridge had used to fasten them to the wall. The brooms hurled themselves down the stairs and stopped sharply in front of the twins, the chain clattering loudly on the flagged stone floor.

"We won't be seeing you," Fred said, swinging his leg over his broomstick.

"Yeah," George said, "don't bother to keep in touch." He mounted his own broomstick and grinned again at Fred.

Fred was looking around at the crowd, all watching them silently. He finally found Hermione and held her gaze for a fraction of a second longer than anyone else. His lips twitched when he saw her wink at him, fighting the urge to smile widely up at her and possibly get her into a lot of trouble.

"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," Fred yelled. "Our new premises."

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat!" George added, pointing at Umbridge.

Umbridge, having shaken herself out of her state of shock, suddenly went purple and started shrieking again. "STOP THEM!" she screamed, but it was too late. Fred and George kicked off from the floor as the Inquistorial squad lunged at them. They shot fifteen feet into the air, the iron peg swinging dangerously below them.

Fred looked across the hall at Peeves, still bobbing above the crowd, and grinned. "Give her hell from us, mate!"

Peeves swept his belled hat from his head, winked surreptitiously at Hermione, and sprang to a salute as Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out the open front doors into the glorious sunset.


	10. Chapter 10

_Dear Fred,_

 _Two days. It's been two days and I can't think straight without having you beside me, which is ridiculous because I'm pretty sure I remember not feeling as though I could think straight when you were here! I'm amazed at how lost I feel without you. No one was very happy with the stunt you and George pulled. I'm okay though, just putting up with a lot of strange looks and whispering. I preferred it when you were here to kiss my worries away. I hope you and George are well and that your mother hasn't murdered you._

 _All my love_

 _Hermione xxx_

 _._

 _Dear Fred,_

 _Another day without you. Things have calmed down a little bit. Your swamp is still going strong. Filch is having to ferry people across it on a boat, something I thought you'd find hilarious. Even Flitwick has no idea how to get rid of it. Anyway, it's been a week and I still haven't heard anything. I know you're busy but even if you could just send me a sentence to let me know you're okay, that would be amazing._

 _All my love_

 _Hermione xxx_

 _._

 _Dear Fred,_

 _It's been nearly two weeks now, and I still feel so lost without you. Who'd have thought one silly little kiss would lead to all this? I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't kissed you that day...if we'd have lived our whole lives just across from one another, never knowing what could have been. School is getting busy and there's so much revision to do. I'm so nervous about our O.W.Ls, I really don't want to fail them. I hope you and George are doing well with the shop, I can't wait to see you again soon._

 _All my love_

 _Hermione xxx_

 _._

 _Fred,_

 _I'm starting to wonder if you're receiving my letters, but I'm going to keep writing them anyway because I promised. I miss you. More than you could imagine. Peeves is doing a wonderful job of causing havoc wherever he goes, I think he took your last orders a bit too seriously. He flew around the castle not two minutes after you left, upending every table he could find. Those skiving snackboxes you and George made have been doing a fair bit of damage themselves. I can't wait to see the shop when we get back from school, and I can't wait to see you either._

 _All my love_

 _Hermione xxx_

 _._

 _Fred,_

 _I hope you're doing alright. I miss you terribly but I've been okay since you left. People keep moaning about this place, talking about 'doing a Weasley' so, if you weren't the stuff of legend before, you certainly are now. The pranking here from other students has got considerably worse, it's like they're competing for the open spots you left. Although, I feel like Lee has lost his mojo a bit since you left. The Inqusitorial Squad and Filch keep trying to catch the pranksters in the act, but there's so many of them that they don't know which way to turn. And horrid, unexplainable things keep happening to some of the squad, like Warrington ended up with cornflake skin just last week and Parkinson grew antlers._

 _Umbridge has put four entire classes in detention because they'd all coincidentally started bleeding, swooning, sweating and vomiting during her lessons. The school have dubbed the strange illness Umbridge-itis since it only happens during DADA. Peeves has also managed to shut Mrs Norris in a suit of armor twice. He's been juggling burning torches over everyone's heads, flooded the second floor by pulling off all the taps in the bathrooms and dropped a bag of tarantulas in the middle of the Great Hall during breakfast. Ron was not pleased with him for that one. He went quite pale and I don't think I've ever seen him move so fast. I think it gave him a flashback, poor thing._

 _I've managed to fill you in on quite a bit since I had some extra time to write today. I really miss you, so much, but I'm so happy that you've finally managed to fulfill your dream. I really hope it's going well. I didn't expect for the school to be entrenched in so much chaos purely because of your departure; I always thought that once you and George left, things would calm down and it would be a little less lively. It would seem as though you've started a revolution._

 _I love you, I'll write again soon._

 _Hermione xxx_

Hermione had written to Fred every day for the last three weeks, and had no reply. At first she'd started to panic but then she remembered that Umbridge had a screening process and wouldn't have been surprised to find that all her mail had been confiscated. Angelina was wallowing in as much misery as Hermione, having also recieved nothing from George.

"I bet she isn't sending ours to them, either," Angie grumbled. "Miserable old bat."

Hermione nodded, nudging her food around her plate. "It wouldn't surprise me," she said quietly.

Harry and Ron sat down beside her, Ginny joining them and sitting next to Angie. Lee was sat the other side of the chaser, having banded together with them once Fred and George had waved goodbye.

"Have you had any trouble with Umbitch yet Mione?" Lee asked, looking at her curiously.

Hermione shook her head. "Not much. She took fifty points off Gryffindor the other day because my handwriting was too small. Other than that, every time it looks like she's eyeing me up for something, Peeves causes a massive disturbance and she has to run off and deal with it."

"Yeah, it's almost like he's just waiting for her to start on you," Harry said, his eyebrows raised.

Hermione's lips twitched. "Mere coincidences."

"Bloody convenient coincidences," Ron muttered.

"I'm impressed," Ginny said. "Peeves never does anything he's been told. Unless you count when the bloody baron tells him off."

Hermione shrugged and went back to pushing her food around her plate.

"Are you not hungry this morning?" Harry asked her, giving her a rather sympathetic look.

Hermione shook her head. "No...I'm trying to think of a way I can send a message to Fred that'll actually get to him. Like...is there a way I can send it from someone else, or _to_ someone else, without Umbridge cottoning on, and without having to tell Fred that's what I'm doing...?"

Ginny shrugged. "Probably," she said. "It's Fred and George-"

"-anything's possible," Hermione finished for her, smiling across at the young witch.

Lee frowned. "What if I sent one?"

"Huh?" Hermione said.

"What if I sent a letter to the twins? That might work?" he looked between Hermione and Ginny.

"The problem is, I don't think Umbridge is going to approve any letter sent to either of them," Hermione sighed. "And I don't think she's going to approve any letter _I_ want to send at all."

"So we need to find someone on the outside that we can send a letter to for Fred," Lee said, shrugging as though this was easy.

"Yes, but the problem is, we can't tell them it's for Fred, they're just going to have to guess," Hermione groaned. "We should have thought of this before he fucking left!"

"Yeah, you should have done," Ginny said, smirking as Hermione threw a bread roll at her.

"Either way, I'm going to keep writing to him," Hermione said. "If only to piss Umbridge off even more. She's the one who has to read them."

"That, and if you don't write to him, she might be tempted to think your whole relationship was a lie," Lavender chipped in, having been eavesdropping from two seats down.

Hermione frowned at her, the girl's tone of voice set her on edge. "Well, she can be tempted to think what she likes. It's not a lie."

Lavender smirked and raised an eyebrow at her. "And it never has been...?"

Hermione stared at her in shock for a few seconds. "Of course it hasn't," she said, shaking herself out of it and trying to keep her voice even.

"You sure about that?" Parvarti asked, her lips pinched as she looked gleefully at Hermione.

"Yes I'm sure!" Hermione snapped.

Katie dropped down into a seat across from Lavender, Alicia slipping in next to her. She eyed Hermione nastily before starting to load her plate with some breakfast.

"Well, I heard different," Lavender said primly.

"You heard wrong," Hermione argued, a lump in her throat and her eyes starting to tear up.

Angelina was shaking as she glared at Katie. "I knew you could be a vindictive little bitch but I honestly didn't think you'd stoop this low," she growled at her.

Katie blanched, looking more shocked than Hermione had done upon finding out that Lavender had insider information.

"You're one to talk," Alicia hissed. "Becoming best friends with the enemy?-"

"She's not the fucking enemy!" Angelina shrieked loudly at them, causing Hermione to cringe and half table to fall silent. "You pair need to grow up and stop taking your shit out on other people! This isn't a fucking joke or a God-damn game!-"

Alicia flung her arm out at Hermione, glaring back at Angie. "She stole Fred from Katie!" she cried crossly. "Whatever happened to the fucking girl code?!"

"Oh my God!" Angie roared, abruptly standing up as Hermione buried her face in her hands. "Fred wasn't Katie's. He was _never_ going to be Katie's! He's not even fucking _Hermione's_. He's his own God-damn person, and you don't get to take his autonomy out on his fucking girlfriend!" With that, Angie picked her bag up from beside her and stormed out of the Great Hall, the rest of the crowd looking on in shock.

Alicia scoffed and Ginny held a hand up, silencing the girl quickly.

"Alicia, I think I speak for almost everyone at this table when I say...shut _the_ _fuck_ up," she murmured.

Hermione lifted her head slightly and chanced a glance at the teachers' table. Her stomach dropped when her eyes met Umbridge's beady little black ones. She was smiling sweetly for the first time in weeks, an excited gleam in her eye.

"Oh shit..." she muttered, watching the woman totter towards them on her piggy legs.

Umbridge grinned at the smallish group. "Well, that sounded very interesting. It would seem you are a thief after all, Miss Granger..."

Hermione swallowed slowly and tipped her head up to look at the horrid woman.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for being the cause of such a disgusting disturbance..." She looked at Hermione in contemplation before saying slowly and smugly, "You know, I _am_ the Headmistress now, and I have the power to expel students for whatever behaviour I deem inappropriate. And I think-"

Before she could finish her sentence an almighty BOOM could be heard from directly above them. Umbridge glared at Hermione before she went stalking out the door to investigate.

Hermione breathed out a small sigh of relief, her whole body shaking. She wiped the few tears from her eyes that had pooled there and sniffed.

"Hermione..." Katie said softly, not really knowing where to start.

Hermione stood up as soon as Katie had opened her mouth. She shook her head as she collected her things.

"I can't believe you hate her as much as you do," Ginny said, frowning at Katie.

"I don't-"

Ginny let out a sardonic little chuckle, cutting her off. "Yes you do. To be so utterly selfish that you'd not even think about the very real and life-changing consequences of your actions...you must hate her. What other conclusion is there?" She shrugged, looking up at Hermione as she put her bag over her shoulder.

"I was hurt-" Katie simpered.

Ginny scoffed."I know. So, obviously your actions are completely justified. Hermione starts seeing the guy you like so you get her wand snapped and rip her away from all her friends. Sounds fair."

"It's not - Hermione!" Katie called, standing up as the bushy-haired witch walked away without a word or a backwards glance.

 _Fred,_

 _I really wish you were here. Katie's made friends with Lavender and Parvati, and it sounds like they've been sharing secrets already, which is great for me. The three of them and Alicia are like some wicked little coven, although I do think they felt bad when they had a screaming match with Angie in the middle of the Great Hall and Umbridge threatened to expel me for it._

 _I feel like I'm treading on thin ice here. Half the time, I only get away from her because Peeves just so happens to have pulled one of his many stunts just as she's about to inforce some kind of awful punishment on me for walking, or breathing. At least that's how it feels. I'm on edge the whole time, waiting for her get me. Every corner I take and everywhere I go, it feels like she's going to be creeping up on me. I can't wait for this year to be over. I'm spending most of my time praying that I'll get to take all my exams before I'm cast out, just so I can keep my wand and not have to leave you all._

 _Anyway, I hope you and George are okay, and the shop is doing well. I love you both, and I can't wait to see you again._

 _All my love_

 _Hermione xxx_

"Should we say something?" Hermione said, her cheek pressed against the charms window as she watched Mr and Mrs Montague march inside the castle. "About what happened to him? In case it helps Madam Pomfrey cure him?"

"Nah," Ron said, indifference pouring off him. "He'll recover."

"Anyway, it's more trouble for Umbridge, isn't it?" Harry said in a satisfied voice.

They were supposed to be charming teacups to walk around the table, but so far it wasn't going well for either of the boys. Harry's had grown legs that weren't long enough to even reach the table and Ron's had collapsed underneath it's own weight and cracked in two.

"That's all very well, but what if Montague's permanently injured?" she said, muttering _reparo_ under her breath as she fixed Ron's teacup.

"Who cares?" Ron said irritably, trying again and watching as the teacup's too-thin legs trembled violently at the knees. "Montague shouldn't have tried to take all those points from Gryffindor, should he? If you want to worry about anyone, Hermione, worry about me!"

"You?" she said, catching her teacup as it scampered happily away across the desk on four sturdy little willow-patterned legs. "Why should I be worried about you?"

Ron grimaced. "When Mum's next letter finally gets through Umbridge's screening process, I'm going to be in deep trouble." He held his teacup gently as it tried to support it's own weight. "I wouldn't be surprised if she sent another howler."

"But-"

"You wait," he said darkly. "It'll be my fault Fred and George left. She'll say I should've stopped them leaving. I should have grabbed the ends of their brooms and hung on or something...yeah, it'll be all my fault," he finished miserably.

"Well, if she does say that it'll be very unfair, you couldn't have done anything! But I'm sure she won't, I mean, they've got premises in Diagon Alley so it's obvious they've been planning it for ages," Hermione said.

"Yeah, but that's another thing! How did they get premises?" Ron said, hitting his teacup so hard with his wand that it's legs collapsed again and it lay twitching before him. "It's a bit dodgy, isn't it?"

Harry shared a look with Hermione.

"They'll have needed loads of galleons to afford the rent on a place like that. She'll want to know what they've been up to, to get their hands on that sort of gold."

Harry grimaced and Hermione shrugged softly.

"I mean, I've kind of been wondering whether Mundungus has persuaded them to sell stolen goods or something..." Ron sighed.

"He hasn't," Hermione said, nudging Ron and getting him to look at her. "Harry gave them his Triwizard winnings last June."

Ron took a minute to let that sink in, and then he beamed. "But this is excellent!"

Harry grinned. "Right?"

"I mean, other than being the last to bloody know-" he scowled briefly at the two of them "-it's all _your_ fault, Harry!"

"What?!" Harry cried.

"Mum can't blame me at all if you gave them all their funding!" Ron smiled happily. "Can I tell her?"

Harry groaned and then sighed. "Yeah, I suppose. You better had really, especially if she thinks they've acquired it through nefarious means."

 _Fred,_

 _I can't express how much I really wish you were here right now! Remember how I told you all about Norbert and the crazy man who owned him?! The crazy man isn't just crazy, Fred! He's downright ridiculous! He's certificably insane! Honestly! I can't believe the bloody gall of the man! And I can't even tell you what he's done! I'm pulling my hair out here Fred!_

 _On another, far more positive note, Ron saved several goals the other day. The rest of the school commandeered that awful 'Weasley is our King' song and changed most of the lyrics so it's now a winning anthem. Gryffindor won! Your sister caught the snitch right from under Cho's nose, apparently, although I have yet to ask Ginny about it. We didn't see it, of course, due to the mad man who wanted to tell us a secret I wish he'd kept to himself! Merlin! I am so fucking pissed! One of those hard and fast sessions would be good right about now._

 _All my love_

 _Hermione xxx_

A few days after Harry and Hermione had told Ron about Grawp, they found themselves in front of the fireplace with Ginny, Lee and Angelina.

"I heard you caught the snitch at the match Gin," Hermione said, yawning as she curled her feet up under her. There was a study book on her lap, but she needed five minutes break from staring down at the page just to wake her up.

Ginny grinned and nodded. "Yeah, it was amazing. Chang wasn't paying enough attention."

Harry chuckled. "Ron said she wasn't too happy..."

"No, I believe she sulked for some time," Ginny snickered. "Seemed mighty friendly with Roger Davies at the start of the match though," she said, wincing apologetically at Harry.

Harry shrugged. "I know, I saw. I don't really care all that much anymore."

"So you're definitely over then?" Ron asked, yawning himself as he looked up at Harry.

Harry nodded. "I'm pretty sure we were over when I told her that Hermione's trick with the sign up sheet was fucking brilliant..."

He laughed with Hermione when she choked, sniggering along too.

"Why would you say that to her?!" Hermione cried. "You moron!"

Harry shrugged again. "I don't know...I guess I just got tired of the drama. And she tried to defend Edgecomb. She couldn't understand why I was so upset."

The common room suddenly got very quiet very quickly. Hermione frowned and looked around to see everyone in the room gaping in awe, their stares fixated on something just inside the portrait hole. She closed her book and placed it on the table, standing up and moving around the sofas to see what all the fuss was about.

As soon as she saw him, her jaw dropped, tears sprung to her eyes and she went flying madly across the room. She jumped into his open arms, squeezing him tight as he spun her around, laughing and grinning like mad. As soon as her feet were on the floor his lips were on hers, kissing her soundly.

"Fred!" Hermione cried, happy tears sliding down her face. "What the hell are you doing here?!" She noticed George and Angelina in a similar embrace.

"Well," Fred said, "we got fed up waiting to hear from you. We figured Umbitch had something to do with it, so...we snuck in to see you."

Hermione hugged him tightly again, ignoring all the avid stares from the rest of the room.

"I missed you so much," she sighed.

"Missed you too, love," he murmured, kissing her again. "I kind of wish we could sneak out, but I don't think it's worth the risk."

Hermione shook her head. "No, it's definitely not worth the risk."

"We did, however, bring all the orders we've had from our wonderful customers," George said loudly, laughing at the resounding cheers he got as most of the crowd came to life.

Hermione untangled herself from Fred and went to give George a quick hug, Angie doing the same thing. The next thing they knew, the twins were sitting down in front of the fire with the rest of them, chatting away about all the things they'd missed.

"Hagrid did _what_?" Fred murmured to Hermione, his eyes wide. She'd managed to fill him on the down low about that one.

"Yeah, tell me about it," she hissed. "I was seething when we came out of the forest. You should have seen the letter I wrote you!"

Fred sighed sadly. "I haven't had a single one..."

"I figured as much," she said, resting her forehead against his. "I still wrote them anyway..."

"Me too," Fred said, a small smile in his voice. "When Umbitch is long gone, we'll have to see if we can get hold of them."

Hermione giggled and nodded.

They spent the rest of the evening, until the early hours of the morning, sitting together and snuggled up with one another, making the most of their time. When it finally came time to say goodbye again, Hermione was too choked up to really say any words at all.

"It won't be long now, love," Fred whispered. "A few more weeks and we'll be home free."

"I know," Hermione whispered back, nuzzling her nose into his collar bone.

Fred slipped his hands either side of her face and cradled the back of her neck with his fingertips. He smoothed down her cheeks with his thumbs and gazed into her eyes for an impossibly long time, his nose almost touching hers. Hermione's hands had come up, her fingers wrapping around his wrists as he held her face. He lowered his head, his lips touching hers, slowly but firmly pushing down, opening her mouth up, slipping his tongue inside. He kissed her like it was the only way to tell her he loved her, and for now, that was still the truth. He hugged her tight once more, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and suddenly, he was gone, like he'd never been there in the first place.

Hermione waited for several long minutes before slinking back to the sofa and collapsing on it, tears streaming down her face as she cried herself to sleep. She was so happy to have seen him but even more broken when he'd left again.

 _Fred,_

 _Exams are pretty much here and although I haven't really got the time or the energy, and I know you aren't actually getting my letters, I'm still writing. I think it's because I want to talk to you so much that even though I know this isn't really talking, it's still telling you shit. God, I wish I could get just one reply from you._

 _I'm trying super hard with my revision. Studying gets so boring and I miss having you beside me, keeping me awake, testing me, distracting me when I get in too deep. I honestly can't wait to see you again at the start of summer. I'm going to try and persuade my parents to let me stay at The Burrow for at least some of the holidays. I'd like you to meet them, if you feel ready for that. I think you'll like them and I know they'll love you._

 _Katie's got a bit better recently. She seems to be leaving me alone and it looks like she's keeping a leash on Lavender for the most part. I don't think she realised what a big mouth the girl has, but it wasn't like she was dubbed Gryffindor's Gossip Queen for nothing._

 _I'll try and write again before summer is over, but probably won't be until after exams now. Not that you'll notice or care since you won't get any of this..._

 _I love you Fred_

 _Hermione xxx_

 _._

Hermione was shaking from head to toe. The words 'well that escalated quickly' ringing loudly in her head. Harry was screaming at her, which she'd just about had enough of, and she was sat on the floor covered in giant blood. She sighed and dragged herself up from the ground, wanting nothing more than to bury herself under a blanket and cry.

Harry was so sure that Sirius was being tortured by Voldemort, in the Department of Mysteries no less. Hermione was aware that their Government was most probably corrupt, but there was corrupt and then there was allowing the most evil wizard of all time to saunter on down to a secret department that no one was supposed to really know about. It didn't make sense, but Harry was too upset to listen to reason and she was dangerously close to being the one who was sounding unreasonable.

She pulled herself up from the ground and sighed. "Look, we can't do anything without wands Harry," she said hopelessly. "And anyway, how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London for fuck's sake?"

"Yeah, we were just wondering that," a familiar voice sounded from behind her.

Harry and Hermione both swung round to peer through the trees at where the voice seemed to be coming from. Not a second later and Ron came into view, closely followed by Ginny, Neville and Luna. They all looked a little beaten and battered - long scratches ran the length of Ginny's cheeks, Neville was sporting a large purple lump above his right eye and Ron's lip was bleeding profusely - but they all looked rather pleased with themselves.

"So," Ron said, pushing aside a low hanging branch and handing Harry his wand back. "Had any ideas?"

Harry took his wand and stared at them all in amazement. "How'd you all get away?"

"Couple of stunners, a Dismarming charm, Neville brought off a really nice little Impediment jinx," Ron said airily, handing Hermione's wand back to her too. "But Ginny was best. She got Malfoy with a Bat Bogey hex. It was superb. His whole face was covered in the great flapping things. Anyway, we saw you heading into the forest from the window and came down to follow you." Ron looked around briefly, a small frown on his face. "What've you done with Umbitch?"

"She got carried away by a herd of centaurs," Harry said nonchalantly.

Ginny gasped, an incredulous look on her face. "And they left you behind?!"

"Well, they were going to until Hermione opened her mouth," Harry grumbled.

Hermione growled. "They got chased off by Grawp," she muttered, instead of blowing up at her best friend.

"Who's Grawp?" Luna asked.

"Hagrid's little brother," Ron said promptly. "Anyway, never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire? Has you-know-who got Sirius or -?"

"Yes," Harry said, rubbing his forehead without thinking. "I'm sure he's still alive but I don't know how we're going to get there to help him."

Everyone seemed to fall silent. The enormity of the task seemed to make it impossible.

"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" Luna said, in the closest thing to a matter-of-fact voice any of them had ever heard her use.

Harry rounded on her, his irritation overly evident. "Okay, first of all, _we_ aren't doing anything. And second of all, Ron is the only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so-"

"I've got a broom," Ginny said, staring defiantly up at them all with her arms folded.

"Yeah, but you're not coming," Ron said angrily, glaring back at his sister.

"Oh go suck on one Ron! I care about what happens to Sirius just as much as you do!" she snapped, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking. Hermione knew then that there was no point fighting with her, Ginny was coming.

Harry shook his head. "You're too-"

"If you say young Harry, I'm going to fucking deck you," Ginny said fiercely. "I'm three years older than you were when you fought you-know-who over the Philosopher's stone, and two years older than you when you climbed down into the chamber of bloody secrets to save _me_! I mean, for fuck's sake, it's because of _me_ that Malfoy is currently stuck in Umbitch's office with giant flying bogies attacking him-"

"Yeah but-"

"Harry, just shut the fuck up and get over it," Ginny growled. "We're coming whether you like it or not."

Harry glared at her.

"We were all in the DA together," Neville added, his voice quiet and his tone calm but firm. "It was all supposed to be about fighting you-know-who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real. Or...or was that all just a game or something?"

"No! Of course it wasn't!" Harry said impatiently.

"Then we should come to," Neville said. "We want to help."

"That's right," Luna said, smiling happily at them all.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look that Hermione could read without having to meet their eyes. Instead, she rolled hers. If the boys could have chosen any members of the DA to join them in a rescue attempt, they wouldn't have picked Ginny, Neville and Luna. Hermione, however, thought they'd done pretty well.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Harry said through gritted teeth, "because we still don't know how to get there-"

"I thought we were going to fly," Luna said, frowning at him.

Ron was clearly starting to lose his temper. "Look, _you_ might be able to fly without a broomstick but the rest of us can't sprout wings whenever we-"

"There are other ways of flying," Luna said serenely.

"Yeah, I s'pose we're going to ride on the back of the Kacky Snorgle or whatever the hell it is?" he demanded testily.

Luna gave him a small, reprimanding sort of look. "The Crumple-Horned Snorkack can't fly," she said in a dignified voice. "But _they_ can..." She pointed to an empty space and the only person who seemed to see anything was Harry. "Hagrid says they're very good at finding places their riders are looking for."

"Yes!" Harry whispered.

"Is it those mad horse things?" Ron said uncertainly, staring at the space where Harry was patting thin air. "Those ones you can't see unless you've watched someone snuff it?"

"Yeah," Harry said.

"How many?" he asked.

"Just two."

"Well, we need three," he said.

"I think there's six of us, actually," Hermione said, still a little shaken but determined all the same.

Harry looked at her incredulously. "Don't be stupid! We can't _all_ go!" he cried angrily.

Hermione glared at him but he didn't hold her gaze long, swinging back to the other three.

"Look, you three," he pointed at Ginny, Neville and Luna, "you're not involved in this-"

Neville shook his head. "This isn't just your fight Harry. You're not the only one who lost people to you-know-who, and you're not the only one who still has people to lose to him, either."

Harry huffed and shook his head. Hermione had a feeling his scar was playing him up, something which set her on edge. It didn't feel right. It played out too much like a trap. Voldemort was a grown ass wizard. He wasn't a bunch of teenagers squabbling in a forest. And he was smart too, wicked smart. He hadn't managed to terrorise an entire country by being an idiot.

"Okay, fine, it's your choice," Harry said curtly. "But unless we can find more thestrals you're not going to be able-"

"Oh give it a fucking rest Harry! You and Mione are both covered in blood, give it half a fucking second and there'll be loads more," Ginny barked.

"What makes you think that?" Harry scoffed.

"Hagrid lures them with raw meat, genius," Ginny answered, rolling her eyes at him and staring him down. "It's probably why these two turned up in the first place, because you two reek of it." She scrunched her nose up and shook her head.

"Okay then," he said, nodding at her. "Ron and I will take these two and go ahead. Hermione can stay here and attract more thestrals-"

"I'm not staying behind!" Hermione said furiously. "Just because you're fucked off that you have friends!"

Harry scowled at her.

"There's no need for Hermione to stay," Luna said suddenly. "Look, here come more now..."

Harry growled and rolled his eyes. "Fucking fantastic," he muttered. "Fine! Pick one and get on then!" he snapped.

Hermione, having just about enough of Harry, accepted Luna's help in climbing on an invisible beast and tried her best not send a stunning spell at the back of her best friend's head. She was pretty sure she preferred the broomstick, because at least she could see it. She closed her eyes and held on tight, hoping and praying that she was wrong. That it wasn't a trap and that Sirius really did need their help. Little did she know what they were really in for.

.

George frowned at the bird tapping on the upstairs window. He got up and let it in, offering a few treats for delivering the letter it had attached to it's leg. It was a Hogwarts owl, but they hadn't recieved one of them since they'd left school. They were well aware of Umbridge's unreasonable policing and confiscating of all mail to them and from them. She'd invoked the same wrath on Hermione and anyone else they affiliated with on a regular basis.

He took the parchment off the bird's leg and let it back out of the window. Fred was currently in the shower and the letter was addressed to George, anyhow. He sat down at the tiny little table in their make-shift kitchen area to read the scroll.

 _Dear George,_

 _I know I'm the last person you probably want to hear from...well, maybe not the last but I'm definitely not all that high on your list right now. Anyway, something happened at school. It's difficult to explain, because for one I wasn't there so I'm not really sure what happened, and for two, it's really Fred I want to tell but I wasn't sure he'd read a letter from me and even if he did I didn't know how to say it without him flying off the handle before he got to the end of it._

George swallowed, he recognised the handwriting instantly, and feeling a bit nervous wasn't all that sure whether he wanted to carry on reading. There was something about the tone of Katie's voice that was setting him on edge.

 _Angelina is perfectly fine and wasn't involved so you don't have to worry about her. If she hasn't written to you, it's probably because she's been trying to find out what actually happened. Anyway, the problem is Hermione. The best I can explain it is to just tell you what I've heard through schoolyard gossip and that is, she went with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna to the Ministry of Magic. They escaped from school, broke in to the place, fought you-know-who and a bunch of his Death Eaters and then Dumbledore rescued them and brought them back to school._

George's jaw had dropped and he'd gone very pale. He was feeling quite sick and nauseous, but he knew he had to keep reading.

 _Hermione is hurt, George. And so is your brother Ron. I think Ginny was okay, but I can't be certain. The last I heard, your parents had just got here, and they were waiting for Ron to come round before they told you all what happened, so you wouldn't crowd his bedside. From what I can make out, his injuries are lingering but not too severe. I just knew that no one would think to tell Fred about Hermione, and I couldn't not tell him that she was lying in the hospital wing. As far as I know, she's okay, but she suffered a nasty curse that could have killed her. She's going to make a full recovery but it was a close one. I didn't want to worry you but I knew you'd fare better at relaying everything to Fred, and he really should be with her._

 _I'm sorry I was such a cow about it all before you left. I miss you guys, and I hope this at least makes up for it a little bit._

 _Katie xx_

George gaped at the letter and re-read it five more times before he heard the bathroom door open. He cringed as he thought how best to broach the subject and realised he should have asked Hermione about that spell she used to stick Fred to the bench. He didn't know how he was going to get through the whole thing without Fred running off to Hogwarts after he'd used _Hermione_ and _hurt_ in the same sentence. Or _Hermione_ and _you-know-who_ , or _Hermione_ and _Death Eaters_ , or _Hermione_ and _Ministry_...there wasn't an awful lot he could put in a sentence with _Hermione_ that wouldn't have Fred running off to Hogwarts without listening to the end of it.

Fred traipsed back into the kitchen area and dropped down in the seat opposite George. He sighed softly and ran his hands over his facing, thanking George for the tea he'd made whilst he'd been in the shower. George had crumpled up the letter and shoved it in his pocket before Fred had seen it.

"So, Fred..." George said, clearing his throat and leaning back at bit. "I've got a story to tell you..."

Fred frowned at him. "What kind of story? Is it for a joke-shop idea or something?"

"Not exactly," George said, wincing slightly. "Just, uh...go with me on it for bit, yeah?"

Fred gave him a strange look but nodded all the same.

"So, once upon a time there was an evil...robot," George said, trying to choose his words really carefully. "He was the meanest, most horrid robot that robot land had ever seen."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Is this going somewhere? Not to mention, most wizards don't have a bloody clue about what a robot is, so I'm not sure how we'll sell it if it is something to do with a business idea..."

George shook his head and waved him off, not even bothering to reply. "There were six good but quite young robots who all hated the mean robot. One night, for reasons unknown, the six of them went to battle the mean robot and his mean robot army in...robot...government...land...?"

Fred was looking ever so slightly on edge. "What happened to the six robots?" he asked, in an eerily calm voice.

"Uh," George stammered. "They were rescued by grown up good robots and taken back to robot school, where they were all perfectly fine except the boy one we're related to and the girl one you're in love with..."

"Fuck!" Fred cried, jumping up and immediately pulling his trainers on and heading for the fireplace.

"Fred!" George called, racing after him. "She _is_ okay, as far as I know. She's alive and she'll be okay-"

"You're fucking shit at breaking bad news mate," Fred huffed, giving his brother a quick hug before standing in the fireplace.

"How are you going to get in there?" George asked.

"Honeydukes," Fred said, winking at George and throwing his floo powder at his feet as he said it.

.

Fred apologised profusely to the owner of the candy shop as he exited their fireplace. He and George had made good friends with the man, such that Fred could run down his stairs, open and close the front door without leaving and then silently make his way down to the basement. He ran up the secret passageway as fast as his legs could carry him, squeezing up through the opening of the witches hump and thanking Merlin he didn't have to check who was around or who might see him since it was now pitch black and the dead of night.

He whispered lumos and lit his wand tip, running through the corridors and hallways. He knew George would be along shortly, but he'd probably floo to the Three Broomsticks and walk up. Fred did not have time to walk. He had to see Hermione and make sure she was still breathing. He couldn't believe they'd broken into the Ministry and fought you-know-who and all his Death Eaters in the first place, what the hell were they all thinking?! He was going to kill Harry because he was nearly one hundred percent sure it was his idiotic idea.

After a few minutes of running through the castle, he skidded to a stop in front of the hospital wing doors. Taking a deep breath he charged forwards, swinging the doors open and scanning the beds, his eyes frantically searching for the bushy-haired witch who'd been stupid enough to follow her best friend into the fire. He didn't really blame her. Hell, he didn't really blame Harry. He was just worried, so fucking worried. And he felt sick, knowing it easily could have been worse, or still could be since he had no idea what had really happened.

"Fred?" Molly Weasley frowned at her son as his eyes roved over each bed, thoroughly confused to see him there. Even more confused when his gaze flew straight over Ron as though he wasn't even looking for him in the first place.

Fred hadn't heard his mother. He'd seen Ron and deduced (very quickly) that he was still breathing. His eyes flickered over Ginny who sniggered and just pointed at the bed the other side of Ron's. It had curtains all around it and he could hear Madam Pomfrey bustling about inside. He turned back to Ginny and walked over, dropping onto the bottom of her bed and rubbing his hands over his face. He still hadn't really noticed his mother, sat on a chair between the beds of both her children.

"What the _fuck_ happened Gin?" he muttered, looking up at his little sister.

Ginny shrugged and gave a small but sheepish smile. "Same as usual. Harry can't see out the end of the school year without putting on a show..."

Fred raised his eyebrows at her.

"Well...you know about his dreams, don't you?" she said, sort of huffing at him, but it was more out of tiredness than irritation. "He had a really bad one during his History of Magic exam and passed out. It was of Sirius, being tortured in the Department of Mysteries. And because of Dad-"

"He thought it was real..." Fred correctly concluded with a weary sigh.

Ginny nodded. "Hermione tried to get him to see reason, and even made him check Grimmauld Place to see if Sirius was home. But then Umbridge caught him in the fireplace, and all of us that were helping too, including Neville who tried to stop Warrington from taking _me_."

"Who's us?" Fred asked.

"Hermione, Harry, Ron, me, Luna and Neville," Ginny said. "Anyway," she flapped a hand, "Umbridge called Snape for some veritaserum but was told she'd used all of it, Harry tried to communicate with Snape at the last minute - and even I admit that it didn't really sound like he was that successful - and then Umbridge was going to _crucio_ Harry-"

"What?!" Fred gasped, again not really noticing his Mum's hands flying towards her mouth as she listened intently to Ginny's retelling of events.

"Yeah, right?!" Ginny said, clearly still indignant that the evil woman had come so close. "Anyway, your lovely girlfriend put on her charms and pretended to cry profusely and spill her guts-"

"Girlfriend?" Molly interrupted them. "Hang on a minute... _girlfriend_?"

It was then that Fred suddenly noticed that his mother was sat not even two feet away, gawking at him. "Ah shit..."

Ginny sniggered. "You didn't think he'd come flying into the hospital wing on account of his younger siblings, did you Mum?"

Fred glared at her.

"So who is it?" Molly asked, looking like she was about to start jumping up and down on her seat.

Fred groaned.

Ginny giggled. "Hermione."

Molly's whole face dropped as she stared at her son in utter shock. "Hermione Granger?"

Fred sighed and nodded.

"Hermione? Hermione _wanted_ to date _you_?" Molly said, clearly very confused.

Fred scoffed softly, more amused than offended. He could understand why his mother was having trouble getting her head around it. "Gee, thanks Mum..."

"Oh, you know I don't mean it like that!" Molly waved him off. "You're just so...different..."

Fred chuckled, shaking his head and smiling. "You'd be surprised how similar we are too," he said.

Molly brow furrowed slightly as she looked at him, the twitch of a smile on her face. "You love her, don't you?"

Fred flopped back on Ginny's bed and groaned again.

"I'll take that as a yes," Molly said. She turned back to her daughter and gestured for her to continue. "So, you were saying dear...?"

"Right, well, Mione managed to stop Umbridge from torturing Harry. She told them there was a weapon they'd built for Dumbledore and that's who we were trying to contact..." Ginny petered off and shook her head. "I mean, seriously, the Ministry truly do employ some right _morons_. To believe a bunch of teenagers built a bloody weapon for their Headmaster to take over the country...honestly, they're so bloody naive..."

Fred chuckled, still lying across the bottom of her bed but stretching his arms out and putting his hands behind his head. "So, then what happened?"

"Oh, right, yeah," Ginny said, shaking all her ramblings out of her head and getting back to the story. "So, Hermione convinces Umbridge that she needs to follow them to the weapon, since she doesn't know what it actually is so she can't tell Umbridge anything about it. Umbridge decides to bring Harry, and Hermione manipulates her into thinking she shouldn't bring anyone else and then off they go."

"Where did they go?" Molly asked, now on the edge of her seat.

"The Forbidden Forest," Ginny said. "We saw them heading that way from Umbridge's office window. So we took down her pathetic excuse of an Inquisitorial Squad, whatever the hell that's supposed to be anyway, and went after them."

"How many did you take down?" Fred asked, grinning at her.

Ginny looked up as she counted in her head. "There were five to our four, I believe. Warrington, Malfoy, Crabbe, that Brady girl and Bullstrode," she said.

"Nice," Fred said, high-fiving her from his position.

"I Bat Bogied Malfoy," Ginny said, grinning. "It was probably the best one I've cast!"

Fred gave her a second high five for that.

"Well, that's all very well and good but how did you end up duelling Death Eaters in the Ministry?" Molly said, sounding equally cross and intrigued.

"Well, we went into the forest after Harry and Mione," Ginny said, continuing on. "Umbridge had been carted off at this point, by a herd of centaurs. And then Hagrid's little brother - _Grewp? -_ something like that, chased the centaurs off. Apparently Mione said something they didn't like and they were almost taken away with Umbridge, but I don't know." She shrugged, giving Fred an apologetic grimace as she watched him tense up slightly before breathing out as he calmed himself.

"Hagrid's little brother?" Molly asked tentatively.

"Maybe we won't go into detail on that one right now, hey Mum?" Fred said gently, relieved when she nodded.

"Anyway, we met Harry and Mione in the forest and then had several arguments about who was going to the Ministry and how we were going to get there," Ginny said, continuing on her explanation.

Fred sniggered. "What idiot thought it was a good idea to give you orders?"

"Harry and Ron," Ginny muttered. "Like either one of _them_ could talk. Harry'd been asking for a slap since he'd passed out during his exam! Stubborn-headed prat! He was lucky no one died!"

Fred growled in agreement.

"So, after I told Harry and Ron to fuck off-"

"Ginerva!" Molly scolded. "Language!"

Fred smirked as he watched his sister only just manage to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"-we all jumped on some thestrals and flew off to the Ministry."

Molly sighed and shook her head. "I'm not sure I want to know what happens next..." She let out a wobbly little breath and sat back in her chair, her hand on her chest.

Fred stood up and went to give her warm hug. "Me neither Mum," he murmured, letting her go and going to sit back on the end of Ginny's bed. His eyes kept flicking towards the curtains around Hermione's bed, waiting for them to open so he could see her.

"When we got to Ministry, the phone box gave us these stupid badges with our names and _Rescue Mission_ written on them," Ginny said with a groan and a roll of her eyes. "Seriously, I'm beginning to wonder if everything is joke to them or if they're just that stupid.'

'So, we head down the Department of Mysteries...to be honest, at this point, we're all just blindly following Harry. We got into a weird revolving room, trying to find the right door. There was some strange shit behind some of those doors...Harry finds the right door and we end up in a room with rows and rows and rows of shelves with odd little glass balls on them. So we find the right shelf and Sirius is nowhere in sight, and Harry has _clearly_ fucked up and then, then...Ron finds a ball with Harry's name written underneath it."

Molly and Fred were watching and listening silently now, their breathing barely audible.

"So Harry being Harry couldn't just leave it, could he? No. He _had_ to pick the fucking thing up! Neville told him not to but...anyway...once he'd picked it up Malfoy -Sr- came out of nowhere and demanded Harry hand it over. And then loads of other Death Eaters appeared..." Ginny cleared her throat and shook her head. "Honestly? I didn't think we were going to get out of there..."

Fred reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

"Harry kept Lucius talking until he came up with a plan, and then on his cue we all shrank a load of shelves and the little glass balls fell and smashed and caused enough confusion and chaos for us to peg it down the aisles and towards the door. Only me, Ron and Luna ran through a different door to Harry, Nev and Mione. I don't really know what happened to any of them, just that the Death Eaters split up and all ran after us in different directions. Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets. One of them broke my ankle before Luna could blow Pluto up in his face. They hit Ron with something but I don't know what, it was just like he found everything hilariously funny. He was a fucking wreck and totally useless after that.'

'Luna helped me, Harry had hold of Ron and Nev had Mione. We all ran for the nearest door when Bellatrix Lestrange smashed through into the revolving room with us and starting firing stunning spells at us along with two other Death Eaters. We managed to escape into another room but it wasn't till we were in it that we realised there were a ton of other doors all around it...Luna, Nev and Harry started sealing them all but they didn't get to the last one in time. Luna was knocked out cold, just like Mione. And then Ron, under whatever spell he'd been hit with, and being the idiot he is, summoned a bloody _brain_ across the room towards himself which then started to wrap itself around him. And then, _I_ got hit in the face with some kind of stunning spell. Next thing I know, Harry's jumping over me and chasing after Bellatrix. Then Lupin comes in and him and Tonks help us all out and back to school."

Fred frowned. "Why would Harry chase after Bellatrix?"

Ginny shrugged. "I think she almost killed Sirius or something...at least, Harry thought he was dead. That's what Neville told me anyway..."

Fred sighed. "D'he tell you what happened to Mi?"

Ginny's lip wobbled. "She silenced one of them and then a few minutes later he cast a spell that sliced through the air and across her chest. He said it looked like purple fire..."

Fred sat forward and tried to get control of his nerves. "Fuck..." he whispered to himself. Tears were stinging his eyes and he was still watching the curtains, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to finish.

"From what Poppy has told me, she was lucky she'd silenced him," Molly murmured. "She says she's going to be okay but it might take a bit of time for it to heal completely. She should be good to go before the term ends though..."

Fred nodded, smiling weakly at his mother. "Do we know which Death Eater it was...?"

Ginny sniffed. "Dolohov..."

Fred's whole face snapped towards Ginny, his eyes wide and hollow, his jaw dropped and his skin horribly pale. He couldn't believe the same psycho that had killed his Uncles had also been so close to taking Hermione away from him too. Molly was trembling and shaking her head.

.

Before any of them could try and allivate any tension or do anything to make the situation less awkward or awful, the curtains around Hermione's bed were opened and Madam Pomfrey stepped back.

"Mr Weasley? What are you doing here? Visiting hours-"

"Is she okay?" Fred asked, his voice quieter than she'd ever heard it.

Madam Pomfrey sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat and a tired but amused smile twitching at her lips. "She's going to be fine. She had a close call, but she'll make a full recovery."

Fred felt a great rush of relief, his gaze flicking past the woman and over at Hermione.

"You can see her now," Madam Pomfrey said. "She was starting to stir when I left her..."

Fred didn't need telling twice. He rushed over to her bed and gently sat down beside her. "Hermione..." he whispered, softly sweeping the backs of his fingers down her cheek. He took hold of her hand and stared down at her.

Half a minute later and Hermione began to stir. She squeezed her eyes before slowly blinking them open, twisting her head back forth as she brought a hand up to rub her eyes.

"What...?" she murmured, looking around in confusion. "What hap- _Fred_?!"

Fred smiled down at her, his eyes shimmering with tears.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, gingerly reaching up and touching his face.

"I, uh, I heard what happened," he said, still gazing down at her. "Well, sort of. Ginny filled me in when I got here, a bit. George told me a fucking ridiculous story about _robots_ -"

"Fred," Hermione said, a tear sliding down the side of her face. "I love you. I love you so much..."

Fred chuckled, a watery chuckle, and lent down, pressing his lips to hers. "I love you too, you completely _insane_ woman..."

"I'm sorry," Hermione whispered, sniffing now as she lost control of her emotions. "I'm sorry I just went off like that and I'm sorry I never told you what we were doing and...and I'm sorry I very nearly got myself _killed_..." She let out a small, strangled little sob and pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes.

Fred sighed, peeling them away from her face and smiling softly at her. "If you hadn't gone with them, you wouldn't be you, and I happen to be hopelessly and utterly in love with you. So..." He shrugged and grimaced a bit.

Hermione chuckled between sobs, going to sit up so she could kiss him properly but hissing at the pain she felt in her chest when she tried to move.

Fred smoothed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. "Come on, I'll give you a hand," he muttered. He slipped his arms gently around her body and instructed her to loop hers around his neck. Then, very slowly but surely, he lifted her body into a sitting position, rearranged her pillows so she could lean back on them, and shuffled her back a bit to sit up.

"You can let go now love," Fred said, loosening his grip on her.

"Just because I can doesn't mean I want to," she muttered, squeezing him as tightly as she could.

Fred laughed, burying his face in neck and hiding his tears as they slipped from his eyes. He kissed her over and over from behind her ear to the top of her shoulder, only pulling away when she'd started to giggle quietly. He looked deeply at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry too, love," he said.

"Why are _you_ sorry?" Hermione asked, frowning at him.

"Because I should have told you I loved you before I left," he said, his throat feeling scratchy and raw. "If...if...if that curse had been worse, if you were...if you weren't okay...? And I'd never told you..." Fred shook his head and cleared his throat. He looked up at Hermione as she used the pad of her thumb to wipe a tear from his eye.

"How could you possibly have known what was going to happen?" Hermione whispered, looking sweetly up at him.

"Well," Fred said, tipping his head and giving her a wry smile, "your best mate is Harry Potter and like Gin said, he can't finish off a school year without...what was it?" he asked, looking across at Ginny.

Ginny laughed. "Without putting on a show," she said.

Hermione chuckled, smiling at Ginny before seeing the woman sat next to her. "Mrs Weasley!"

"Hermione!" Molly cried, jumping up at once and bustling over to give the girl a hug. "Oh, I am so pleased you're okay!"

"Thank you," Hermione said, smiling up at her. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise you were there..." She turned to Fred and glared at him. "...watching and listening to everything..."

Fred shrugged. "I forgot she was there too! I wanted to see you! Everything just sort of...fell away...the minute I saw you lying here."

Hermione gave him an unconvinced look. "I would have believed you more if you'd just simply said you were more concerned about me than what your mother would think about us," she said.

"Yeah, well, that too," he said, grinning at her. "And she knew before. Ginny told her after I got here."

"Oh," Hermione said, looking over at Ginny as the girl snickered.

"It's okay Mione, I think she's actually got over the shock of it by now," Ginny laughed softly.

Fred rolled his eyes, his lips twitching in amusement. "She said, and I quote, Hermione _wanted_ to date _you_? Intonations and everything."

Molly huffed a little and looked a bit flustered. "I didn't mean...I was just surprised! That's all! I mean-"

"It's okay Mrs Weasley," Hermione said with a smile, "I was also surprised that I actually _wanted_ to date _him_."

"Hey!" Fred said, going to poke her in the ribs and then thinking better of it. He went with a scowl instead.

Hermione snickered at him, taking his hand and threading her fingers through his.

"Well, the idea of it was shocking at first," Molly said, "but you two really do seem to make a wonderful couple, and I've only seen the pair of you together for less than ten minutes." She smiled at the two of them.

"Thanks Mrs Weasely," Hermione said, smiling back at her.

"It won't be too long before you start calling me Mum, I suppose...?" Molly said, big wide, excited eyes flicking between Fred and Hermione.

"Oh! Uh...well..." Hermione stammered, growing redder by the second.

Fred rolled his eyes. "You get to use that _one_ time," he held up a finger to illustrate his point, "and that's how you choose to use it?"

Molly shrugged at her son. "I have a good feeling about it," she said.

"Have you used it on Fleur yet?" Fred asked, his eyebrows raised.

She hrrumphed at him and muttered something under breath.

"Bill _is_ going to marry her Mum," Fred said. "So I you might want to get used to it."

Ginny scrunched her nose up and huffed, but stayed silent. Molly just looked reprovingly at Fred.

"What do you mean, your Mum gets to use that one time?" Hermione asked, frowning at Fred.

"Oh," Fred laughed, smiling at his mother. "So, you must have noticed how... _enthusiastic_ Mum can be when it comes to pairing us off. She likes to drop the 'won't be long 'til you're calling me Mum' line a lot. At least, she used to. She got so bad, we all banned her from saying it. She's allowed to drop that line once per son, not per girlfriend."

"So, what does it mean if it's been used on me?" Hermione said.

Fred chuckled. "Nothing really. It's just Mum's way of saying she'd be happy if we got married someday."

Ginny cackled and pointed at them. "If? _If_? Ha! That's laughable!"

"Ginerva!" Molly admonished. "I don't believe it's your place to judge your brother's relationship. If you don't think it'll last-"

"I think Ginny meant he should have used _when_ not _if_ ," Hermione said, looking sheepishly up at the older woman.

"Oh!" Molly said, trying to contain her excitement again. "Was she right?"

"Mum!" Fred cried.

"Probably..." Hermione blurted at the same time.

Fred's face snapped to Hermione's and he looked at her with wide eyes.

"Sorry," she said, grimacing at him. "I didn't mean to put you in an odd position, because I know we haven't really talked about it yet. Not that we really would have, or should have, I mean, I'm _sixteen_. You've only just turned eighteen...its not like marriage is, you know, on my mind right now-"

Fred chuckled softly and put his hands over Hermione's flapping ones. "Mi, love, I wasn't upset about you're answer," he said.

"You weren't?"

Fred shook his head. "Of course not," he said. "You had me from that first kiss, even if I didn't know it at the time."

Hermione let out a watery little laugh and a small sigh of relief, her lips twitching in amusement. "Really?"

"Yeah, really!" He laughed. "The reason I looked at you with such horror-stricken eyes is because my mother is one Mrs Molly Weasley..." He petered off as he heard Ginny snorting from her bed.

"What's wrong with _me_?" Molly cried indignantly, her hands going to her hips as she took advantage of the pause in Fred's words.

"Nothing is _wrong_ with you Mum," Fred muttered, looking up at her, "but don't pretend like you won't be secretly planning our wedding for the next however many years!"

Hermione, embarrassed, buried her head in her hands.

"Of course I won't!" Molly huffed, giving him an affection smack to the shoulder. She turned to Hermione and placed a gentle hand on her arm. "He's having you on dear, don't listen to him. You know me better than that, don't you?"

Hermione nodded and forced a smile as she looked up at her. "Of course I do Mrs Weasley," she said weakly. Thankfully, the older woman had accepted her at her words and went back to her seat beside Ginny.

Fred smirked at Hermione.

"Don't say a word," Hermione hissed. She stuck a finger up at him as he opened his mouth. "Not a word."

Fred sniggered and nodded instead.

Hermione rolled her eyes, reaching out for him and taking his hand in hers. She played with their fingers for a long while, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to come back and kick Fred out. It didn't take long before the Matron was standing at the foot of her bed, staring down at the pair of them.

Madam Pomfrey sighed audibly. "I'm not going to get rid of you tonight, am I, Mr Weasley?"

"Probably not, no," Fred said, a small grin on his face.

Madam Pomfrey chuckled softly. "In light of the traumatic experience that Miss Granger has just been through, and against my likely better judgement, I'm going to allow you to stay. But should you end up causing a disturbance or getting in the way-"

"I won't," Fred said quickly. "I promise."

Madam Pomfrey nodded and sighed again. "Oh to be young and in love," she muttered to herself as she padded away.

Fred stayed sat on his chair, stroking Hermione's head until she fell asleep. He stretched out as best he could on his seat and folded his arms, letting sleep over take him, his head falling forwards as he nodded off.

.

He was woken up several hours later by Hermione, thrashing around and gently whimpering in her sleep. He sat up quickly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, going to sit on her bed again and gently taking her hands. He stroked her face softly and waited for her to calm, her eyes starting to blink as she came to.

"Fred...?"

"I'm here love, everything's okay," he murmured softly.

Hermione's lip wobbled and a small sob escaped. Fred leant in and gently wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tight as he could without hurting her. Hermione sniffed and buried her face in his shoulder, squeezing him with as much strength as she had.

"I love you Fred..." she whispered, still sniffing as she let him go.

"I love you to Mi," he said, sitting back and gently stroking her temple with his thumb.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she croaked, curling her fingers around his wrist.

"Love, you don't need to be sorry. I'm glad I was here," he said, smiling down at her.

Hermione nodded, her lip wobbling again. "I hate nightmares..."

Fred sighed and kissed her forehead. "Everyone hates nightmares. They won't last forever though love."

Hermione wiped her eyes and nodded, blowing out a heavy breath. "I really hope not..."

Fred sat with her until she'd drifted off to sleep again. He heard the doors to the hospital wing open and turned to see George creeping in.

"How's she doing?" George asked.

"She's okay, she'll get there," Fred said. "She was having a nightmare but I'm pretty sure, considering what she just went through, that it's not surprising."

George shook his head. "So what actually happened?"

Fred filled him in, relaying everything Ginny had told him. George just sat and listened, gaping at him every few seconds.

"Hey, how'd you find out about it?" Fred asked, suddenly realising that it was George who'd told him. "Did Angie write to you or something?"

George shook his head. "No, it was Katie," he said.

"Katie?"

"Yeah, I'll show you the letter when we get back," George said.

"Get back?" Fred frowned.

George laughed at him. "I give it maybe a day before your super stubborn and incredibly independent girlfriend kicks you out and tells you to go home."

"I agree with George," Ginny whispered loudly from her bed.

George turned and grinned at his sister, walking over to hug her and tell her he was happy she was alright. The three of them set up a game of cards while everyone slept on.

Another hour or two later and Harry appeared in the room. He looked guiltily at the occupants of all the beds before finding three sets of eyes all staring solidly at him in the low morning light. He trudged over to them, his head hanging low.

"If you want to hit me-"

Fred scoffed. "That would get me nowhere, you great prat."

Harry sighed and slumped down on the bed next to Ginny, mumbling a 'thanks' as she budged up a bit.

"I can't believe I was such an _idiot_!" he moaned, more to himself than the small group.

"Really?" Ginny sniggered. "You've done some pretty stupid shit before now," she said.

Harry scowled sideways at her. "Thanks," he huffed.

"My pleasure," she said, smiling widely at him.

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head before commencing with his self-pity party. "Honestly though, how much of a moron d'you have to be to fall into a trap like that? I mean, it was so _fucking_ obvious!..."

"Hindsight's a bitch," George said with a nod.

"I just seriously cannot believe I was so stupid," Harry muttered.

"Okay!" Ginny said, glaring at him. "We get it. You're an idiot. Can we move on now?"

"Huh?" Harry looked at her like she was mad. "Move on? Gin, I nearly got everyone _killed_!"

"No shit sherlock, I was there, remember?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"And I'm just supposed to forget that, am I? I'm supposed to ignore that Ron and Hermione are lying in hospital beds? That you had your ankle broken? That Neville-"

"Merlin Harry! You're so fucking _dramatic_!" Ginny hissed, losing her patience. "You fucked up! Big deal! Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and stewing in your own self-pity, why don't you try learning from it? And maybe next time you want to run off on a rescue mission, try not to be such a total dick to all your friends...?"

Harry winced and hung his head in shame.

"We all went with you because we wanted to," she said, her tone a lot less harsh. "You told us to stay behind. You told us you didn't want us there, but we came anyway-"

"I didn't tell Ron and Hermione to stay-"

"Because you knew it would be a waste of breath," Ginny huffed. "They've been ignoring that request for four years..."

Harry shrugged.

"We're all old enough and ugly enough to decide what we want to do," she said. "I know I'm only fifteen, but I don't care. I know what I want to fight for and I know it's not going to wait till I'm thirty and prepared for it."

Harry looked up at her, his eyes searching hers.

"I'm not telling you all this because I want you to feel better," she said astutely. "I'm telling you because I want you to quit taking my freedoms and choices away. You don't get to carry what happened to me, or any of us, on your shoulders. That's not fair. It was our fight too and it still is. And we want it."

Harry's eyes were wide by the time she'd finished talking, and so were Fred and George's.

"Here here," Hermione muttered from across the room.

Ginny chuckled and gave her an air-five. Fred jumped off the bed and went to sit with her.

"You're mad, the pair of you," Harry mumbled.

Hermione scowled at him.

"Harry," Fred said, "if I truly thought this was all your fault, do you honestly think I'd just casually be hanging out with you instead of trying to break your face?"

Harry grimaced at him and shook his head. "I'd deserve it..."

Fred huffed and nodded at George to smack him upside the head. Ginny got there first. "You thought someone you loved was in danger. You thought they were going to be killed. You didn't drag your friends into it, they chose to stand beside you. Don't sulk because people love you back..."

Harry groaned and flopped back on Ginny's bed. "Why can't you just let me wallow in peace?"

"Because it looks kind of...Moaning Myrtle on you," Ginny answered.

"I'm not being a moaning Myrtle!" Harry cried indignantly. "I'm just feeling rightly guilty about endangering all my friends!"

"Oh give it a rest Harry," Hermione snapped. "Given half the chance, you'd feel guilty about pretty much anything!"

Harry stuck his middle finger up at her since he couldn't see her to stick is tongue out.

"Come on Harry!" Hermione giggled. "So yeah, we came pretty close to death last night, but none of us actually died. Why don't you focus intensely on that for a bit instead of what didn't happen?"

"But you still got hurt," he grumbled.

Ginny rolled her eyes and poked him in the ribs. He squealed and jerked away so hard that he nearly fell of the bed. Ginny snorted and tried not to laugh.

"Oh just get over yourself," she said, laughing at him.

Harry glared at her.

"I'm serious though," Ginny said. "You want to wallow, do it in your own time."

Harry muttered something under his breath and settled himself back on the bed properly.

"What was that?" Ginny said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I said, I was perfectly happy being all mehrr before you opened your mouth," he grouched, his lips twitching as he did his best not to look at her.

Ginny giggled. "You're really going with that?"

Harry shrugged and sniggered. "I'm committed."

George looked so confused.

.

Hermione had been let out of the hospital, much to her disgust, only three days before the end of term. On the train home Harry had been jumped by Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle in front of a compartment full of DA members. The dastardly trio were squished into a luggage rack and oozed the rest of their way home. The two boys played a game of wizard's chess, Ginny did a quiz in the Quibbler and Hermione read the Daily Prophet. Neville was sharing their compartment too, but was too focused on his Mimbulus mimbletonia to really pay anyone else any attention.

Over the duration of the journey it had been discovered that Cho Chang was now dating Michael Corner, and so, Ginny was now seeing Dean Thomas. Hermione tried not to laugh as Ron completely flipped out. She also found it quite interesting how much effort Harry seemed to have to put into being completely nonchalant about the whole thing.

Hermione grinned widely as she saw all the people waiting for them once they'd crossed the magical barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Lupin, a big black dog, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Fred and George, and her parents.

Without much thought she ran straight into Fred's arms, laughing happily as he span her around before setting her down and kissing her. A loud clearing of a throat made the two jump apart rather quickly.

"What exactly is going on here?" Hermione's Dad stared down at them, clearly trying to keep a hold of his temper.

Hermione chewed her lip and swallowed a curse. "Hey Dad," she smiled, "uh...this is Fred. My boyfriend..." She gestured to Fred while wincing at her Dad.

Fred nervously cleared his own throat and smiled at Mr Granger. "Pleased to meet you, Sir," he said, sticking his hand out.

Mr Granger stared at his hand and then up at Fred, crossing his arms as he looked him up and down. "I'd have preferred a proper introduction before you stuck your tongue down my daughter's throat," he said, narrowed and unpleased eyes on the young man.

"Technically, she started it," Fred blurted.

"Fred!" Hermione hissed, wide eyes on him as she smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand.

"What?" Fred muttered. "It's the truth! You shoved your tongue down my throat first-"

"Fred!" Hermione cried, trying to put her hand over his mouth.

Fred sniggered and stepped back, catching her wrist and licking her palm before he pulled her hand away from his mouth.

"Urgh! Gross Fred!" Hermione squealed, scrunching her face up in disgust. She wiped her hand on his jacket and he laughed.

"So...Fred..." Mr Granger said, still staring intently at him. "You're interested in my daughter, are you?"

Fred nodded. "I fancy myself a bit more than interested, but, yeah..."

" _More_ than interested?" Mr Granger said, raising his eyebrows at Fred. "Is that so?"

"Tom..." his wife muttered, giving him a sideways look.

Tom ignored his wife and continued to glare at Fred. "Ten years from now, where d'you think you'll be?"

Fred smiled and looked down at Hermione. "Honestly? If Mi hasn't woken up and realised she's too good for me, probably doing whatever it is she wants to do in ten years," he said.

"I want to be with you in ten years," she said quickly, looking up at him, her eyes shining and her tone sincere.

Fred kissed her forehead and chuckled softly. "You say that now..."

"I'll say it always," she insisted.

Fred smirked at her. "I love that, and I love you, but," he said, leaning down to mumble loudly near her ear, "I'm trying to win your Dad over here, and I don't think that's helping..."

Hermione sniggered, her shoulders falling forward as she laughed. She met her mother's eyes, finding the same kind of mirth in them as her own. Once she'd finally managed to calm herself she looked up at Fred again and shook her head. "Fred, you could be the most wonderful, charming, perfect guy on the planet and I can guarantee you wouldn't win my Dad over today."

"Ah," he said, nodding. "Long game?"

Hermione nodded back. "Definitely long game."

"How long are you planning on this game being?" Tom asked, frowning at Fred.

Fred shrugged. "If I have it my way, the game'll never end..."

Tom grumbled something and folded his arms irritably.

"Don't mind him Dear," Hermione's mother said, smiling at him. "He's just pissed that you answered all his questions so well."

Tom huffed and glared at his wife. She took no notice. "My name is Martha, and it's a pleasure to meet you Fred," she said, extending her hand and shaking his.

"Nice to meet you too, Martha," Fred said, smiling back and letting out a small sigh of relief.

"That's Mrs Granger to you," Tom cut in, "or Ma'am," he said with a curt nod.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Ma'am?" Martha snapped, fiery eyes fixating on her husband.

Fred winced, having seen that exact same expression on her daughter. Mr Granger was going to regret opening his mouth.

"Yes, _Ma'am_ ," Tom said. "It's a perfectly respectable title-"

"How fucking old d'you think I am?!"

Tom's whole face crumpled and he groaned. "Shit..." he muttered.

Martha was still glaring at him. " _Ma'am_. I don't think so some how! I told him to call me Martha and that's exactly what he'll call me, won't you Fred?"

Fred nodded emphatically. "Absolutely..." And then, because he was a total git, and for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom, he added, "Ma'am."

Hermione's jaw dropped and she jerked back to look up at him, her expression clearly indicating that she thought he'd gone stark raving bonkers. Martha just gaped at him, not really sure what to do. Both women were totally bowled over when Tom snorted and then started laughing, completely beside himself with mirth.

Fred pulled his lips between his teeth, trying to suppress a smirk, but he was failing hard.

"Okay," Tom said, wiping his eyes and still chuckling as he calmed himself down. "I like you. You can stay."

Fred beamed as both Martha and Hermione looked in disbelief at Tom.

"What? It takes balls to say something like that when you get all...like that," he said, gesturing to his wife flippantly.

"You want to keep talking?" Martha said, a warning tone to her voice that was completely betrayed by the amused twitch of her lips.

Hermione was still gaping at her father. "He dropped out of school this year to open a joke shop with his twin brother," she said bluntly.

"What are you doing?" Fred muttered, a little panicked.

"Trying to claw back some semblance of reality," Hermione muttered back. "My Dad doesn't just _like_ people."

"Well, I like him," Tom said, shrugging and smiling at Fred. "And the joke shop thing makes a lot of sense. I can see that."

Hermione raised her eyebrows and looked at her Dad in disbelief. "He's eighteen-"

"Give it a rest, love," Fred said, gazing forlornly at her.

Hermione sighed and nodded, her shoulders sagging a bit. "I know. You're right. Besides," she said, smirking up at him, "you are Fred Weasley, anything's possible if you've got enough nerve."

Fred chuckled and pulled her into a tight hug. "Come on love, you're Hermione Granger, you can do the impossible. Even if the impossible was bringing home a boyfriend you're Dad might like," he said, laughing.

"I expect we'll be seeing a lot of you over the summer, Fred?" Tom said, smiling jovially at him.

"I expect you will," Fred said, holding his hand out again and grinning when Tom shook it.

"Well, we'll leave you to say goodbye," Tom said, dragging his still stammering wife away and waving to Molly and Arthur as he went.

"I can't believe my Dad accepted you, just like that," Hermione murmured, turning to face him.

Fred grinned. "Parents love me," he said with a chuckle.

Hermione scoffed. "Yeah, because you've met that many of them before."

Fred tipped his head in agreement and grinned again. He encircled Hermione's waist with his arms and pulled her in towards him. "You know?" he said, "I think this is the last place I expected to be when I got on the train at the beginning of the year."

"I believe I can say the same thing," Hermione chuckled, looping her arms around his neck.

"You should stick your tongue down my throat more often," he mumbled, bringing his lips to hover over hers.

"Oh I plan to," she said, grinning wickedly as she closed the distance between them.

 ** _The End._**

 **So, that's it for _Rebel with a Cause._ I'm planning on adding more story that runs through the last 2 books, but it will mostly be a series of one shots ****for both. Look out for _Rebel Waits for War_ which will follow The Half-Blood Prince. Again, I can't guarantee it'll be soon and the updates will be sporadic as usual.**

 **I'm sorry to anyone who hoped Fred might have joined them at the Ministry at the end of this one, or hoped that I'd write the Ministry scenes/chapters, but it would have been word for word and if you're reading Harry Potter fan fiction, chances are you know what happened at the Ministry without me re-telling it. I'm trying to keep this story as canon as possible, that being said, I love Sirius and just couldn't kill him off.**

 **Thanks for sticking with me, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and that you enjoy the next one, once I get writing it!**


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